


Dreams So Real

by Zetal (Rodinia)



Series: Soulmate Dreams [8]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Background Relationships, Child Celebrity Problems, Family Issues, M/M, Skating Season, Soulmate AU, soulmate dreams
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-17
Updated: 2018-03-19
Packaged: 2019-02-15 18:55:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 48
Words: 55,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13037325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rodinia/pseuds/Zetal
Summary: Yuuri and Viktor's lives are stable, for now, but certainly not boring.  Sasha's working toward the Olympics, they've got skating and university and friends to keep up with, and life always had surprises in store.Yuri, on the other hand, could do with some boring.  His novice debut was huge, putting pressure on him to improve on it.  His mom's getting married.  His biological father showed up and manipulated the situation to, basically, force Yuri to spend time with him.Sequel toLiving The Dream.





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri and Viktor start thinking about new programs while finishing their school year, and Yuri has his first "father-son date" with Lev.
> 
> Timeline: May 2012

School was going to make Viktor crazy. It was May. He and Yuuri were supposed to be exploring the world looking for ninjas. Instead, they were stuck in Saint Petersburg, and while he was very much enjoying his classes, he missed the freedom of being able to go have adventures in May.

It also meant more pressure to work out his programs for next year. He had one idea that he was playing with the choreography for. Sasha thought he was crazy for trying it – after all, he couldn’t do a flip unless he made it to the exhibition and even then he’d have to learn the flip, and Yakov would probably kill him. Still, the idea of doing a summer Olympics theme was too appealing to pass up without at least trying.

Yuuri wasn’t having as much trouble with the school thing, but figuring out programs, that was driving him nuts. “Do you think Yakov would let me do a program about ‘fuck you Bioware give me a better ending for Shepard’s story’?”

“No, probably not, but it’s very nice music and plenty of themes in there you could pull out to work with.” Viktor started laughing. “Make the same costume three times – one red for the short program with a theme of ‘do whatever it takes no matter what’, one blue for the free skate with a theme of strength in diversity, and one green for the exhibition with a theme of unity?”

“Oh no. You are awful.” Yuuri hugged Viktor through his own laughter. “You know what we have to do now.”

Viktor's beautiful heart-shaped smile lit up his face. “Go get on the ice so you can mess around with choreography?”

“Yep. If I can figure out how to do this… I will have used my fame to draw attention to a very important issue.”

 

Yakov’s eyes glazed over about two sentences into Yuuri’s explanation of his idea. “You know what, just show me what you come up with. Vitya, how’s the Olympics choreography coming?”

“I think I’m almost there.”

“Good. I’m glad to hear that.” Yakov looked around. “While you’re all here, next month is going to be a little different from usual.”

“Huh? What’s going on?” Misha asked.

“The Russian Skating Federation has asked me to host this year’s training camp. Mila, Yuri, you’ll be participating in the camp. Viktor, Georgi, Misha, you’ll be helping me. I’m still figuring out exact assignments, but you’ll all have something you’re in charge of.”

Viktor scowled and squeezed Yuuri’s hand. “You forgot someone.”

“I did not.” Yakov glared at Viktor. “Yuuri, I want you to assist Lilia with running the dance part of the camp. She specifically asked for you, but I certainly agree that of my skaters you’re the best choice.”

“Oh, sure! I can do that.” Yuuri nudged his husband. “See, Vitya? Have a little faith in Yakov. If anyone else accused him of forgetting me, you’d be the first to yell at them.”

“Sorry, Yakov.”

Yuri glared. “Do you have to be so annoying?”

“Sorry, Yuri, but yes, we do.” Viktor stuck his tongue out at Yuri. “Someday you’ll meet your soulmate, and if you’re lucky you’ll be just as in love as us.”

“And if I’m not lucky, I get my very own asshole Lev. Does this crap run in families?”

Yuuri shrugged. “Even if it does, my parents are perfect for each other and completely in love still, Viktor and I are us, and yet Mari had bad luck. Maybe you’ll be the exception?”

“Maybe.” Yuri kicked at the rink wall. “Speaking of Lev, he’s supposed to pick me up after practice. If I don’t show up tomorrow morning, send help.”

“I don’t think he’s going to kidnap you, Yuri,” Yakov said. “At least, not yet. Ransom only works once, but if he can convince you to let him be your dad, he can get your money whenever he wants.”

 

Lev took Yuri to a park to play Frisbee and talk. That part wasn’t too bad. Yuri took great pride in telling Lev how he’d come to be with Yakov – Irina hurt, Nikolai unable to both look after Yuri and provide the needed care for Irina while still working, unable to afford to hire someone to take care of Irina or quit his job to look after them. “If she’d have told me, I’d have been there for you, Yuri. I’m so sorry – but really, isn’t this better? Skating for Yakov Feltsman from the beginning, I don’t know any other skater that’s done that.”

“Whatever.” Lev had a point about Yakov, but it certainly didn’t make up for all the things Yuri had missed out on because of a lack of money. He started running through the list with the stories he told Lev about growing up.

After dinner, Lev started to walk Yuri home. When they got close enough, Yuri turned to go to Yuuri and Viktor’s instead. Lev called after him. “Where are you going? Yakov’s this way.”

“Surprised you remember how to get there. I’m not going there.”

Lev took a step toward him. “Where do you think you’re going to go?”

Yuri rolled his eyes. Even Irina or Boris would have known this one. “Yuuri and Viktor’s.”

“And how are you going to get home from there?”

“Walk from the rink tomorrow? I do this at least once a week, and they know I’m coming.”

Lev scowled. “You shouldn’t spend so much time with them. Why would they want a kid tying them down right now? Yuuri’s what, twenty?”

“Nineteen. Is that why you ditched Mama? Because you were too young to be tied down by a kid?”

“I didn’t know about you! And she ditched me.”

“You know that repeating a lie doesn’t magically make it true, right?” Yuri took off walking. “Anyway, unless you’re going to drag me, you can’t make me go to Yakov and Lilia’s, and if you do drag me, nobody’s going to believe you give a crap about your kid.”

Lev came after him, but didn’t try to force him the other way. “Why do you want to hang out with them so much anyway?”

“They’re family. Potya likes their dogs, stupid traitor cat. And you may be my biological father but you’re not my papa and I don’t have to justify anything to you.” Yuri got enough ahead of Lev to not have to talk to him anymore.

Viktor welcomed him with a hug. “Yuuri should be back soon, he took Makkachin and Vicchan for a walk. Hello, Lev. I’ve got him from here. Have a good evening.”

Lev took the hint and walked off. Once he was out of earshot, Viktor winked at Yuuri. “One of us had to stay here to greet you, but we were afraid Makkachin and Vicchan might pick up on how much we don’t like Lev and cause problems. Or Makkachin wouldn’t pick up on how much we hate that guy and make him feel like someone in this family likes him. I'm not sure which would be worse.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, Yuuri's program. Mass Effect is a very popular video game trilogy, and the third game came out in March. One of the main appeals of the game was the fact that your choices mattered, and what the main character, Commander Shepard, chose to do would affect the fate of the galaxy. Your choices fell into three broad categories: paragon, coded blue, that values saving lives, encouraging the various races of the galaxy to work together, and encouraging diplomacy; renegade, coded red, that values protecting others at any cost (there are multiple points where you can commit genocide in the name of saving the galaxy), putting humans first, and is more likely to choose a violent option than a talking option; and neutral (no color).
> 
> The basic premise of the game is that Commander Shepard discovers that the galaxy is threatened by a super-powerful race of sentient machines called Reapers and works to prepare the galaxy to fight back.
> 
> Mass Effect 3 came out in March 2012. There was a huge uproar as there were four possible endings. Of course, there was the "you suck" option where the bad guys win. There was the Destroy option, where you blow up the Reapers, the Control option, where you took control of the Reapers, and the Synthesis option, where you disperse your DNA throughout the galaxy and cause a rewriting of every life-form in the galaxy to be a blend of synthetic and organic. As originally released, the only difference between the three win options was the color of light the galaxy exploded in: Destroy red, Control blue, Synthesis green.
> 
> There was a HUGE uproar, which caused BioWare to release free DLC to do a better job of showing the differences between the three endings, including various things related to major choices made throughout the trilogy. Yuuri's program is Yuuri taking that outrage and being so extra that Viktor Nikiforov is impressed and mildly scared.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasha takes a step closer to the Olympics, and Lev is a creep.
> 
> Timeline: May 2012

Sasha called mid-May. “I don’t want to jinx anything, but you might want to start thinking about the Olympics.”

“We’ve been thinking about the Olympics, Sasha!” Viktor protested. Yuuri shoved his book away and came to curl up with Viktor to talk to Sasha. “I saw Russia qualified for finals, but we were in class or training all day, I haven’t had a chance to watch you. How did you do?”

“I had a good day! I qualified for the event finals in two of my three events, and I would have made it on floor exercise if I hadn’t been the third place Russian. I’m in second place on uneven bars, behind one of the Italian gymnasts, and I can beat her. It’s not official, but the coach here is going to be the Olympic team’s coach, and she said that anyone who wins a gold medal in an event final here is on the team unless there’s an injury or a disaster in next month’s Russia Cup.”

“Well then! We’ll be cheering for you! I wonder…”

“No, Vitya. We cannot go to Brussels for the weekend. Yakov would kill us.” Yuuri kissed Viktor’s cheek. “We’ll be watching, Sasha. Good luck!”

“Thanks. Oh, hey… some guy asked me to ask you to tell Yuri his dad says hi?”

Viktor scowled. “Did you get a name?”

“Lev.” Sasha looked between them. “Don’t tell Yuri I said this, but that dude is a real creep. He’s gotta be in his forties, but he hit on one of the Romanian gymnasts.”

Viktor scoffed. “Don’t worry, you’re not saying anything Yuri wouldn’t say all on his own. Lev is a creep. How old is his gymnast?”

“She’s not his gymnast and she’s seventeen. Why?”

“He’s using the media to manipulate Yuri into spending time with him – Yuri would just as soon not deal with him at all, but Lev went public with a sob story about being denied a chance to be his son’s father…”

“Oh. Well, he backed off as soon as she said she was waiting to know who her soulmate was, so he probably thought she was older. It’s not something that you could use. I can keep an eye on him for you?”

“No, you have a competition to focus on. Ignore him as much as you can.”

Sasha laughed. “Okay. I can get Valera to keep an eye on him?”

“He’s got better things to do than spy on a creep.”

 

Team finals were Saturday, which mean that Yuuri and Viktor could watch. They’d planned on leaving practice early to go home and then come back to make up the missed time afterward, but Yakov overruled their plans. Practice ended early and anyone who wanted to come was invited to Yakov’s house to watch. Romania took gold, Russia silver, and Italy bronze. Sasha didn’t have as good a day, but still did very well.

They gathered again the next day to watch the event finals. Sasha was in uneven bars and balance beam. While they watched, Yuri spotted Lev in the crowd and pointed him out. “What’s he doing there?”

“He likes watching the ladies, apparently,” Viktor said. “Sasha said not to tell you but he’s a creep.”

“Ugh. Figures. At least Rykov has a good excuse to be there.”

Sasha ended up just barely beating the Italian gymnast for gold on the uneven bars, and took a bronze on the balance beam that had her squealing. When she called, she was still squealing. “I did great! It’s still not anything official, but two medals at Europeans is great. Vera did better, but that’s okay, second-best still gets me on the team!”

“We’re proud of you, Sasha! When will you know?” Yuuri asked.

“Russia Cup ends June 17th. Coach knows who she wants to pick and who she needs to watch and decide between, so it’s just going out there and doing well. I’m the best we’ve got on bars and beam, and Vera’s the best we’ve got on floor and vault, so I don’t think either of us really needs to prove our worth at the Cup. Just not crumble.”

“Amazing! London should be fun!” Viktor said.

 

Lev came back to the rink on the 19th. Yakov wanted to kick him out, but decided against it when he realized what the day was. Yuri wasn’t going to complain about being called out of the tutoring room to get back on the ice for a little while, but he did want an explanation. “What’s so special about today?”

“It’s his birthday. If there’s one day where we absolutely must play nice…”

“Ugh, you’re right, but that doesn’t make it not suck.” Yuri scowled but got his skates back on.

For his theme this year, he’d gone along with Yakov’s suggestion of playing into the Yuri’s Angels thing. Short program to a remix of the Charlie’s Angels theme, free skate to music from Prokofiev’s _The Fiery Angel_ , and exhibition to Train’s “Calling All Angels.” He was still learning the choreography, but he had enough of it down that he could give Lev the general idea of it.

Lev was appreciative. “What jumps are you doing?”

“Dunno yet. I’m gonna have two versions, one that’s all double jumps and one that includes triples. I’m almost ready to include a triple Lutz for the hard version.”

“No triple axel?”

“No. Yakov won’t let me until I start juniors.”

“But isn’t that worth like a million points?”

Yuri rolled his eyes and glared at Lev. “A million points that I don’t need. Once I get to juniors it will be different, but for now, the only guy who beat me last year is gone so I’m probably going to be winning everything already. No sense in pushing myself harder than I have to, because it increases the risk of injury.”

“Ah, I guess that’s true. Ice dance was different, and Irishka was already doing all the jumps she was going to do by the time I met her. She experimented with combinations a bit, but scoring was different and she focused on the artistic side.”

“Whatever. Happy birthday.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Training camp.
> 
> Timeline: June 2012

Training camp began in early June. Each of the older skaters was assigned to lead classes that played to their strengths – Misha worked with the kids on jumps, Georgi on artistic expression, and Viktor on spins and step sequences. Lilia taught ballet herself, but had Yuuri work with them on mini-lessons on several other forms of dance. “Are you going to tell me what the mysterious skill you and Viktor have put so much time into learning is?”

“It’s not something I would be comfortable teaching kids.” Lilia just stared at him, and Yuuri flushed. “We’re pole dancing.”

A small smile briefly crossed Lilia’s lips. “I see. No, I don’t think that would be a good idea for training camp. You should still have plenty of material to work with, since you’re just going for exposure to various dance styles so they can find one that works for them. I still expect a demonstration at some point.”

Most of the skaters at the camp were Russian, although there were a few foreigners. The youngest were eight and nine-year-olds looking for basic skills, and the oldest were sixteen-year-old juniors. They were divided by level – pre-novice, novice, and juniors – which sorted them by age, too, for the most part. There were a couple cases where a younger skater was moved up due to skill, if they were reasonably close in age – Yuri didn’t get moved to the juniors because he was too young to be in with teenagers. There were more cases of a skater being dropped a level because of lack of skill, if they were borderline age. These were mostly foreign skaters, among them Otabek Altin who should have been with the juniors but was placed with the novices.

 

At least camp gave Yuri a good excuse not to spend any time with Lev. He spent a lot of time at Yuuri and Viktor’s place, where he would complain about the asshole dance instructor who kept picking lame dance styles to teach them instead of something cool like breakdance, or the asshole skating instructors who kept making them practice the basics. Yuuri and Viktor played along, complaining about this mouthy student who kept complaining about being held back.

“Have you guys noticed Otabek watching me?” Yuri asked.

Viktor shook his head, but Yuuri had. “Lilia’s noticed it too, although she thinks he’s just watching you because you’re the best in your class and he’s… not. Is he bothering you? Do you want me or Lilia to say something to him?”

“No, he’s fine. I just wanted to be sure I wasn’t imagining it. Thanks.”

 

The next day, after a dance class where once again Yuuri chose to teach them something other than breakdance, Yuri approached Otabek. “Hi. I’m Yuri.”

“I know.”

There were two reasons Yuri could think of for Otabek to be so interested in him. One he could accept. The other… “Are you a member of my fanclub?”

“No. They’re crazy.” Otabek’s eyes widened a little. “Sorry.”

Must be the first one. He admired something about Yuri. Probably his dancing, if Yuuri and Lilia had noticed it but not Viktor. That was fine. “Don’t be sorry. They’re the crazy ones, not you.”

A ghost of a smile crossed Otabek’s face. “What do you want?”

“Look, I know you’re in juniors and we’re not gonna see each other at competitions for years, but are you gonna become friends with me or not?”

Otabek blinked. “Why would you want to be friends with me?”

Yuri shrugged. “You seem cool.”

“Is this you trying to be like Viktor and Yuuri and put together the next generation of the Saccharine Six? It’s obviously going to take a lot of work for me to get good enough to qualify.”

“No, this is me thinking you seem cool and thinking I’d like to hang out with you.” Yuri’s hands clenched in his pockets, and he glared. “If you’re not interested, you can just say no. You don’t have to be a dick about it.”

That got a smirk out of Otabek. “Sure. Friends. Give me your phone?”

 

For the rest of the camp, Yuri spent his free time hanging out with Otabek. He even got Otabek invited to the rink party for Misha’s birthday. It was nice, having someone to complain to about Lev, and Otabek told him that he’d left Kazakhstan for a lot longer than a couple weeks. “I’m going to be training in Moscow this season, and then my coach is hoping to send me to America. I hate being away from my family already. How do you handle it?”

“Well, it helps that my mom kind of sucks, my stepdad and I don’t exactly like each other much, and my asshole of a biological father is a dick. I really only miss Natasha and Grandpa, and I can get up to Moscow to see Grandpa whenever I want, he and Yakov are friends so as long as I don’t abuse the privilege he lets me go.”

“I suppose that would help. I think I’d still rather have a good family, though. I can’t imagine how lonely life would be without my brother and sisters.”

Yuri looked up from his phone in surprise. “You don’t have friends back home?”

“Oh, I do, who I’m going to keep up with the same way I’m going to talk to you, but not really any close friends. They don’t understand the dream I’m chasing to Moscow and America and wherever else the winds of fate take me. Your dream isn’t the same as mine, but you get what it’s like to have that huge dream to chase.”

“It’s sort of the same. A gold medal’s a gold medal whether you win it to be the best or to prove something about your country. Viktor keeps talking about how much he likes having competition and I can see why he’d want someone to push him. Novices is probably gonna be boring this year without Emil.”

Otabek smirked. “Emil probably said the same thing last year about JJ and Leo. Then you came up. You never know, there may be some hotshot out there.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Russian Cup for gymnastics and assignments.
> 
> Timeline: June 2012

Between skating camp and studying for finals, finding the time to watch Sasha was difficult. Still, Viktor was determined to do his best. He missed the qualifiers, but was able to watch the team finals, where Moscow easily ran away with the gold. Sasha qualified for three of the four event finals and the all-around. The first day of event finals only featured vault, which is the one Sasha wasn’t in, which gave Viktor a day to focus. The next day was beam and bars, where Sasha finished with golds in both. After that, Viktor had to call Sasha and congratulate her. “Does this mean you’re on the team?”

“It means that I’m probably on the team. The only thing that will mean I’m on the team is after the all-around when the coach makes the announcement. It’ll be announced live on the TV coverage, if you can watch you’ll know when I do.”

“But… you’re on the team, right?”

Sasha giggled. “Unless I manage to hurt myself tomorrow on floor or the day after in the all-around, I’m on the team. But we’ve know that since Europeans, Vitya.”

“I know. I’m just excited.”

The excitement grew with Sasha taking another medal, this time silver, on the floor. On Sunday, with the camp over and finals not starting until the next day, Viktor and Yuuri hosted a watch party for the all-around finals. Yuri even managed to convince Otabek to stay an extra day to watch. “What about Lev? With camp over, don’t you think he’s going to want to see you?” Otabek asked.

Yuri scoffed. “He’s probably there. Even if he’s not, I’ll tell him to go to hell, I’m watching my friend.”

Whether he was at the gymnastics event or not, Lev didn’t show up. They had a good time watching the finals. Sasha started out well with a beautiful bar routine, which she followed with excellent beam and floor routines. She was in first heading into the last rotation, but fell behind Veronika to finish with the all-around silver.

There was a lot to talk about, apparently, as they spent the next half hour showing highlights. The announcers seemed sure that Vera and Sasha were in, along with the third-place finisher, but the fourth and fifth spots seemed contentious. Viktor didn’t know enough about gymnastics to really understand the difference, but it sounded like it would come down to which events the coach wanted specialists for.

There was an eruption when they announced the team: Sasha was on it. She called as soon as she could. “I’m going and I’m going to be competing all-around! I wasn’t sure they’d let me, my vault is pretty weak, but she told me I’m doing it!”

“That’s great, Sasha! Can’t wait to see you with your very own Olympic medals!”

“Don’t get too excited, the Americans are really good. I should medal on bars, but I don’t think I will on floor, and beam is just so… erratic. I may not pass you on the medal count.”

 

Finals sucked Yuuri and Viktor’s souls from them for the next week, but this time, at least, Yuuri wasn’t as frantic about them. He’d survived the January ones just fine even after missing all that class for the Grand Prix, and the June ones weren’t really all that much harder. Next year might be different, but this year was okay. Once again, Yuuri’s marks were fine, as were Viktor’s, and this time, they didn’t immediately have to turn around and start preparing for a new semester or competitions in the immediate future. They had the next two months off.

“Did you ever decide where we’re going on our vacation, Yuuri? We should probably start getting paperwork processed if we’ll need it.”

Yuuri snuggled up to Viktor. “Yes, I decided, and what makes you think I haven’t already started the paperwork? You’ll find out when we get on the plane unless you investigate what I pack for you and put it together from that.”

Viktor hugged him. “You are the best husband ever! This is going to be fun!”

 

Before they could leave, they had to wait on assignments. Those came out at the end of June. Yakov called them together. “All right. Mila first: you’re in Bled at the end of September and Germany mid-October. Two of the last three events.”

“Okay.” Mila turned to Yuuri. “Phichit?”

“He’s going to be in Bled, too. So’s Leo, it looks like. And then he’s got Courcheval with JJ, he should love that one. And then Seung Gil and JJ are in Chemnitz with you.”

“Cool! Looking forward to this then!”

Yakov cleared his throat. “And then the next week we start off with seniors. Viktor, you’ve got Skate America, with Kamil, Rykov, Sachio, and Bin. Skate Canada, Misha and Yuuri, where you’ll be up against Christophe and Jude. None of you got the Cup of China, that’s interesting.”

“Huh. Weird!” Viktor said.

“Rostelecom Cup, Misha and Georgi. Sachio and Christophe are the main competition there. Paris, Viktor, this one’s just you.”

Viktor crossed his arms and pouted. “And Yuuri can’t come to Paris with me because he’s got the NHK. Stupid schedulers.”

“Right. You’ve got Jude, Su, Paul, and Rykov… no one you can’t beat easily but some good competition for second. And then finally, NHK, that’s Yuuri and Georgi, with Michele, Kamil, and Kaleb. That’s going to be a tricky one. Kaleb never seems to do well in the Grand Prix, but you never know.”

“Yuuri can’t come to either of my competitions!” Viktor suddenly realized. “Nooooo!”

Yuuri hugged him. “We’ll survive. At least you can come to both of mine. And we should be together in the Finals, right? Barcelona should be fun.”

“And Yuri, you’ll have three competitions this fall… the Ice Star in Minsk, NRW in Dortmund, and Skate Celje. Celje’s the only one I’m going to miss. I am going to have to miss Skate Helena this year, it’s at the same time as Europeans. Other than that, it looks like I’ll be able to come to everything else. Be good and listen to Lilia.”

“Yuuri? What about Yuuko?” Viktor asked.

“She’s got Skate America with you – now I’m really upset about missing it, since her other one is the Cup of China that we’re not going to. I won’t see her until Finals either. Skye and Sara will both be in Canada with me… and at the NHK, too, along with Emily and Cathy. That should be fun!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A note on schedule through the holidays: I am not going anywhere over Christmas. Updates will continue every day/every other day through the end of the year. I am going to Oklahoma over New Year's and then back to work on the 3rd, so things may see a little break then, but not much.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vacation! Wheeeee!
> 
> Timeline: July 2012

Viktor couldn’t stop bouncing on the way to the airport. He hadn’t even peeked at what Yuuri packed for him, and cheerfully took Yuuri’s advice to dress comfortably for warm weather. He knew Yuuri better than to think that Yuuri would have picked somewhere cold. He was curious, of course, but there was no way he was ruining Yuuri’s surprise! Even at the airport, he very studiously ignored everything that was said while he presented documents and checked luggage. He let Yuuri lead him to the gate and easily navigated getting on the plane.

Once on, though, he couldn’t contain himself any longer. “Yuuuuuuri! Where are we going?”

Yuuri stared at him, jaw hanging open. “Wow. I love you so much.”

“I love you too! Where are we going?”

“Only you not only would get on a plane with no idea where they were going to land but avoid any kind of spoilers.” Yuuri kissed Viktor’s cheek. “We’re going to Egypt. No ninjas, but lots of history there, and I bet we’ll have fun. I want to ride a camel.”

“Maybe we’ll get lucky and there will be a ninja who got lost!” Viktor was not going to stop bouncing the entire flight. Egypt! He’d always wanted to go!

 

They landed in Luxor – first stop was a cruise on the Nile. Summer was not the best time for it, because they kept the locks closed which meant changing ships, but it was still a cruise on the Nile. The temples were great – Yuuri recognized Karnak from Tomb Raider, while Viktor cared a lot more about its historical significance, but they both had a great time touring the ruins. The Valley of the Kings was also entertaining – after all, what do you go to Egypt for if not to look at tombs? In Kom Ombo, the mummified crocodiles were a particular delight. Viktor wasn’t as fond of the live ones he’d seen, but how could he not get excited by their mummies?

The cruise ships, of course, had their own entertainment – dancing and shopping and parties and generally having a good time. The food was amazing, as well, and Viktor was glad that they were getting so much exercise because he was able to go nuts with the dinners. At night, it cooled off enough to where they could sleep, which was Viktor’s main concern when he encountered the heat. On their last night, dinner was followed by a folklore show, which Viktor enjoyed very much.

After the cruise, they flew south to Abu Simbel to visit the temples erected by Ramesses II. Then it was north to Cairo, from which they visited Giza and the Great Pyramids, and Alexandria. They spent one more day there for the shopping - and found a place to ride camels - and then headed out again.

 

Detroit wasn’t Thailand and there wasn’t a beach to hang out on, but there was a Phichit and a Paul and a Skye to hang out with, and Celestino graciously let them steal them from the ice for part of the day. They were all perfectly happy when Celestino wouldn't let JJ go with them - he wanted some one-on-one time with his newest pupil anyway. Phichit caught them up on everything they’d missed with their attention on more important things in Egypt. “The articles about you two are mostly fluffy and happy and cute. Viktuuri Vacation Round 2 and stuff. You two weren’t as cuddly as usual, in public, but _most_ people blame that on either being in Egypt and its somewhat conservative culture about PDA, or being in Egypt and it’s too hot even for the two of you to want to be all over each other.”

“And then there were the idiots, but don’t mind them, no one else does. ‘We stalked Viktor and Yuuri for twelve hours in obscene heat and they only kissed twice! Is divorce on the horizon?’” Paul rolled his eyes and tossed the football to Skye. “I get that they have to sell newspapers and that no, you two being adorable is not exactly news, but still. Me and Skye would’ve broken up five million times by now if half the things they say are grounds for divorce really were.”

“Sergei’s mom called me the other day to ask if I was Sergei’s soulmate after all and that’s why he wouldn’t tell her anything about his soulmate.” Skye threw the football to Viktor. “So at least we’re getting that? Not that you two are anymore.”

“Spoke too soon.” Phichit held up his phone. “I just read, in July 2012, five and a half years after you guys met and began the greatest love story figure skating has ever known, an article about how Viktor and Yuuri are faking their soul bond to cover for the fact that Yuuri’s real soulmate is even more underage than Yuuri was and Viktor’s real soulmate doesn’t exist.”

Yuuri rolled his eyes. “Yay. Who’s my real soulmate then?”

“Yuri, of course.” Phichit made a face. “Of course, this one’s a bit more noteworthy than most of them, they’ve got a comment from Lev about your undue influence over his son…”

Viktor spiked the football. “Oh for fuck’s sake. Lev is a moron.”

“There’s a quote from Nikolai, too,” Phichit continued. “He doesn’t believe you’re other Yuri’s soulmate, Yuuri, but he also doesn’t believe your influence over him is undue. Yuri’s probably going to be prickly when you get back about Nikolai saying how wonderful it is the way you and Viktor have adopted him into your family, even more than is usual at Yakov’s rink.”

“Hamsters on it?” Yuuri asked.

“Of course. Nikolai also indicated that he’s far more concerned about the undue influence Lev has over Yuri right now, but that in a little bit, he’ll be able to put a stop to that. He just needs some time to get something together. He’s hoping to have it before Yuri’s first competition in September.” Phichit put his phone away and turned to Skye. "So... Sergei's real soulmate?"

"He's not telling his parents anything about because she's fifteen right now and too interested in hockey to have time for an intercontinental soulmate. She's Swedish, gonna come to America for college and that's when she wants to meet up with him. His parents are ridiculous and if they knew anything about her they'd make him go to her or start contacting her themselves... they hated that he and I were dating while we waited for our dreams or for someone to show up." Skye retrieved the football and threw it at Viktor. "Don't you start. Nobody cared, including Sergei's soulmate."


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How Yuri Spent/Will Spend His Summer Vacation, or Seriously Lev Please Just Stop Already.
> 
> Timeline: July 2012

Thanks to camp, Yuri hadn’t gotten to go to America for Natasha’s birthday, but he went for a week in July. Natasha was mad at him at first, but by the end of the day she was back to smiles and giggles and letting Yuri hug her. She’d grown a lot since Christmas, and had learned to remove her clothes if they were simple. Chasing a half-naked baby sister to put her shorts back on her got old quickly. She was still cute and Yuri was still completely in love with her.

“Have you guys figured out anything to make Lev go away?” Yuri asked on his last night there.

Boris sighed. “We’re working on it, but the bank records are old. Most banks only keep things for five to ten years, and all this would have happened nearly twelve years ago, so your grandpa is going through his files to see if he still has anything helpful but you’d know better than anyone why that’s taking time.” Yuri did. His grandfather, on days he could work, was exhausted by the time he got home, and on days he couldn’t work, he wouldn’t necessarily feel up to slogging through files either. Yuri was not going to get impatient. Grandpa was doing his best, and all being a brat about it would do would be to irritate his favorite person in the world.

“You could always tell him to just fuck off and you don’t owe him shit,” Irina suggested. “Publicity nightmare but you’re too good a skater to lose sponsorship completely over honesty, and you have Viktor behind you.”

“I don’t want to rely on Viktor any more than I have to. If dealing with Lev’s shit while Grandpa finds paperwork will help, then I’ll do it.”

 

Sure enough, Yuri was very prickly when Viktor and Yuuri got back. Despite the prickles, he basically moved in with them for the week between when they returned from vacation and when they left for London. His stated reasoning was to piss off Lev, but no one believed it, especially not when Yuri announced, “I want to go to the Olympics with you guys.”

“What’s Yakov say?” Viktor asked immediately. “Can you afford that much time off training?”

Yuri scowled. “If I’m stuck with another ‘father-son bonding date’ with Lev, I’m going to lose it. Grandpa keeps telling me to tough it out, that I’m a fighter and I’m strong enough to do this, but right now, I don’t feel like it.”

Yuuri and Viktor looked at each other, an entire conversation handled without words. “Well, we’ll see what Yakov and your mama say. You compete quite a bit before we do, I don’t know if he’ll let you go, and your mama might not let us take you, but we’ll try,” Yuuri promised.

 

They didn’t get the chance to talk to Yakov. Viktor was just about to when Lev showed up at the rink. He was going to the Olympics to watch gymnastics, and he wanted to take Yuri with him. Yakov argued against it – Yuri needed training, he had a meet at the first of September, but Lev pointed out that every other skater at the rink had taken at least two weeks off, while Yuri had only missed one. “Besides, from what I saw last year, he’ll be all right even without improvement.”

“But if I don’t keep pushing myself, I’ll get killed when I get into Juniors,” Yuri snarled. “No sense getting lazy now.”

“Viktor and Yuuri are the lazy ones. They’ve been gone for weeks and now they’re leaving again? At least you’re not following that example.”

Viktor bristled and skated over to Yuuri. “We are not being lazy.” Yuuri swallowed and nodded, so Viktor headed over to Yakov. “Rykov, Yuuri, and I have rink time booked. Yuri would be more than welcome to join us.”

“You’re training with Rykov?!” Yuri and Yakov shouted at the same time.

“Yes? We’ll be focusing on skills, so it’s not like we’re letting Rykov see our programs early, and I’m not training anything new and Rykov knows Yuuri’s planning on attempting a quad salchow this year.” Viktor looked over at Yuuri, who shrugged.

Lev didn’t bother hiding his snickering. “You guys have any idea how this is gonna look in the media?”

“We’re hoping for ‘Rivalry over, family wins over jealousy’, prepared for ‘Rykov sabotaging Viktuuri’ and just praying no one takes it into their head to make that in a soulbond sense instead of just a skating sense.” Viktor shrugged and smiled. “We’re expecting a lot of confusion, mostly.”

Yakov shook his head. “At least tell me you’ve warned your publicists.”

“Yep. Mihara-san thinks it’ll be mostly ignored in Japan – I’ll get in trouble if I don’t support the Japanese Olympians, but no one will care about Rykov. Phichit’s told the Hamster leaders to be ready for something big to potentially drop, but only a very few what it is.”

“Isaak is ready to go with a piece about the reconnection between me and my sister, and we’ve got statements drafted that are basically along the lines of thanks for your interest but can we talk about my sister who’s competing in her first Olympics. Isaak’s even going to connect those dots and get a conversation going about how having the support of friends and family can make us so much better, tying in our rink culture and the Saccharine Six and Rykov’s best competition being the one where his younger brother was there.”

“And what about Yuri?” Lev asked.

“Isaak’s got a couple things for him, but we weren’t sure he was coming.” Viktor turned his focus to Yuri. “You’re part of our rink culture, of course, and with your grandfather and Natasha and if you want to you can throw in something about hoping to meet Stanislav at a competition someday you should have plenty to say.”

Lev frowned. “Is there a reason you got him on with your own publicist?”

Viktor shrugged. “I know Isaak, I trust Isaak, Yakov, Boris, and Irina approved and Nikolai said he’d trust Yakov and my judgment. Since Yuri's kind of tied to us, it just seemed logical to bring him on with someone already on the team. Why?”

“It’s just… I’ve heard some things about Isaak that would make me hesitate to hire him for a child. Mila’s not with him, is she?”

“No, but so far, she hasn’t needed one. Yuri’s already been dragged into the circus surrounding me and Yuuri, though, and now with having his own fan club so young, he needs one.”

“So it’s not that he gave Yuri some kind of discount…?”

Yakov shook his head. “He’s not charging Yuri the same thing he’s charging Viktor, yet, but that’s based on Yuri’s age and relative lack of exposure. It’s in line with what I would expect to pay anyone for handling Yuri’s press.”

“And what about the Hamsters?”

Yuuri tilted his head. “What about them? The Hamster Brigade is a volunteer activity within my fan club, they cover Viktor and Yuri and most of my other friends when they need to just because they’re my friends, and they’re almost as fanatical about protecting Phichit as they are me.” He smiled at the memory. “He nearly cried the first time they showed up to smack down some jerk who said Phichit was only getting the scores he was because he’s Thai.”

“Hmmm. Well. The point here: I’m taking Yuri to London to watch the gymnastics?”

Yakov looked long and hard at Yuri, but finally nodded. “If I find out you’re not letting him go to practice, I’m coming to London to take him home. You do not want that to happen.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp. Sorry about that - first "omg what is energy how do I awake" spell of the winter hit, along with having gift fics due and the trip to Oklahoma/returning to school from holiday break. Should settle down now!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Olympics begin!
> 
> Timeline: July 27-29, 2012

Sasha was thrilled to see them when they got to London, and even more excited to hear that Yuri would be around. “Anything I can do to help with Lev?”

“Not that I know of. When you have a chance try to hang out with Yuri if you can put up with Lev being creepy, but if it would mess with your head…” Viktor hugged her. “You need to do well!”

“I’ll try. Putting up with Lev, I mean.” Sasha pulled away and stared at Viktor. “You and Yuuri are going to behave at the rink?”

Rykov shook his head. “Sashka. Have a little faith in your brother, won’t you? He’s a good guy, the past is in the past, and the three of us are willing to leave it there.”

 

At practice the first day, Yuri was full of complaints. The hotel room he was sharing with Lev was fine, Lev wasn’t being awful, just… he was Lev. “If I didn’t know what he’d done to Mama or could believe him when he said Mama’s the one who ditched him and hid me, I dunno. He’s still giving me kind of creepy vibes. He almost didn’t let me come to practice today after I kicked him, but then I reminded him that Yakov would come take me home.”

Viktor tried to contain the snickering. “Why did you kick him?” Whatever it was, Lev deserved it, but he wanted to hear the story.

“I’m not repeating what he said about Sasha. Especially not in front of her brother and her soulmate.” Yuri glared at Rykov. “I’ll kick you too if I ever hear you talking about her that way.”

Rykov closed his eyes and clenched his fists. “Okay. Not going to beat up your dad unless Sasha asks me to, but I want to. Speaking of Sasha, though…” Rykov trailed off.

“What?” Yuuri eventually prompted.

“If she gets a gold medal here, she wants a ring. I can’t imagine you’ll have a problem with it, Viktor, but I’m a bit nervous.”

“Why? Even if I still hated you for how you behaved when you were young and stupid, I can’t say a bad word about how you’ve treated Sasha, and you _are_ soulmates. You know how much that means. And you’ve grown up a lot.”

“Yeah. Thanks.” Every single muscle in Rykov’s body relaxed, and he smiled. “Although I kind of want to pull a media prank where we stage some huge fight. I saw what happened with your last prank, though, so it’s really not worth it. It’s going to hurt Sasha, and that’s just not acceptable.”

“Are you still going to give her a ring if she doesn’t get a gold medal?” Yuuri asked.

Rykov shrugged. “I’m still going to try. Sasha’s the one who said anything about the gold medal.”

 

That day was men’s qualifiers, so they didn’t go. Instead, the skaters met up with Sasha after her practice time and set out to see London. They invited Lev and Yuri, but Lev had other plans, taking Yuri out to see Stonehenge. “You get to see Viktor and Yuuri all the time. You don’t need to tag along with them every time.”

“But I almost never get to see Sasha and she’s going.”

“You’ll have other chances. I promise, you’ll get to see her.”

“Fine.” Yuri handed his skate bag to Viktor. “I don’t wanna haul this, can you hold onto it for me?” Viktor accepted it easily enough.

After dropping off skate bags, the four met up at the London Eye. “Okay, who’s planning the day?”

“I nominate Viktor,” Rykov said. “Unless Yuri’s into history.”

“No, he thinks it’s boring,” Viktor whined. “I don’t know where I’m going wrong with him!”

Sasha giggled. “History tour it is, then. Where do you want to see?”

No one was surprised when Viktor chose to start at the Tower of London. 

 

The trip to Stonehenge obviously went reasonably well, as Viktor found himself bringing Yuri’s skate bag the next morning. “Sorry. Lev wouldn’t let me come get it last night, and thing weren’t horrible enough to make the shitfest that me running off would cause worth it. He keeps saying you guys shouldn’t be stuck babysitting all the time, and I shouldn’t try to drag you down or keep you from having adult fun.”

Yuuri hugged Yuri. “If we felt like we were stuck babysitting, I might agree. You probably wouldn’t have enjoyed the adult fun we had yesterday, but we’d have spread it out over the days we’re here instead of doing it all at once.”

“Lev says for me to go straight from here to the arena. I can stop at the hotel to drop off my bag, but he wants me there by the start of the second group.”

Viktor frowned. “That’s not a lot of time… why so early? The Russians won’t compete until Group 4.”

“He’s planning on watching all of it. I don’t mind that part, I like watching gymnastics, but it’s annoying.”

“Oh well, you and Lev are still welcome to come to lunch with me and Yuuri, although I don’t imagine he’ll let you.”

 

Lev didn’t, so after lunch, Viktor and Yuuri went to watch the remaining gymnastics. The third group featured the Americans Sasha said were going to be the biggest competition, and Viktor could see why. In the fourth rotation, Sasha’s friend Veronika started the floor exercise. Sasha was the last one up on floor, and she looked perfectly confident as she made her way to the corner. She didn’t beat Veronika, and her score wasn’t good enough to qualify for the finals, but she was close, and she looked happy with her performance.

Next up for the Russians was vault, where she went second and did all right. Her score was the one dropped for Russia, but it wasn’t low enough to put her out of the all-around running. More worrying was that she was currently in third of the three Russians going for all-around, behind Veronika and Tatiana. Thankfully, her two best events were the two remaining. On uneven bars, she made up for it and more with a strong routine that put her in third – very likely to qualify for the finals. Her balance beam routine was the last performance for Russia, and she killed it. She was currently tied for second with one of the Americans for beam, and it put her fourth in the all-around and Russia second for teams.

Those held up through the final rotation. Viktor and Yuuri stayed to watch, because Japan was included. Afterward, they ran into some reporters. “Viktor! You’re here to support your sister, I assume?”

Viktor grinned for the camera. “Yes, of course! Russia as a whole, and Japan, of course, but mostly Sasha. I am so proud of her for her performance today!”

“Yuri Plisetsky is here, too. Do you know why?”

“We’d thought about bringing him with us, he’s a huge fan of Sasha and has been since before he even met me, and they’re friends now. Then Lev decided he wanted to take Yuri to the Olympics with him, and who would argue with that?” Never mind that they had. Nikolai still needed more time.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Olympics continue and Lev shows a couple cracks. Yuri has himself a Real Good Day.
> 
> Timeline: July 30-31, 2012

The next day was men’s team finals, so Sasha was free to go see London with them – this time, with Yuri and Lev. They decided to go to the zoo. Yuri started to run off like he always did when he went to the zoo with them, but Lev stopped him. “Where are you going, son?”

“They have tigers!” Yuri tried to pull away, but Lev held on firmly.

Yuuri smiled. “He always does this.”

“And you just let him?”

Yuuri shrugged. “Sure. Why not? He likes tigers, we can have someone stay with him while the rest of us go see other things, occasionally we can even get him to go watch some of the other animals. Yuri, they have a spider thing that seems like it could be pretty fun, and don’t forget to make time for the lions.”

“How could I possibly forget to make time for lions?” Yuri jerked away from Lev. “I’ve been doing it all summer,” he muttered as he took off. This time, Lev wasn’t fast enough to catch him before Viktor squealed and started running for a food vendor, his path just happening to take him right in front of Lev and blocking him. Sasha took off after Yuri, Rykov after Viktor, leaving Yuuri to deal with Lev.

“He could get lost, or in trouble!” Lev said. “You seriously just let him run off on his own?”

“He’s eleven, he speaks English well, and he has his phone if he does somehow manage to get lost while looking at tigers. If he runs into fangirl trouble, well… that’s not his fault, is it? And it would happen whether he was on his own or with the full group.” Yuuri started after Viktor. “Do you want a lemonade?”

They brought lemonades to Yuri and Sasha. Yuri was eagerly telling Sasha about tigers, and she was smiling as she listened. Viktor and Yuuri took off to go look at other animals, as did Sasha and Rykov, leaving Lev to listen to Yuri. That didn’t slow Yuri down at all as he talked about tigers. He waited for Viktor and Yuuri to come back before moving on, though. “Friendly Spider Exhibit? Otabek wants to hear about it.”

“Otabek? Who’s that?” Lev asked.

“My friend. He’s cool.” Yuri bit his tongue. He didn’t want to say too much about Otabek and get him hassled at Asian competitions. “Spider time!”

Lev backed away. “Someone should stay here to tell Sasha and Rykov where you are.”

“That’s what texting is for,” Yuri said, his face lighting up with a grin. “Come on! You wanted to spend time together, quit being such a pussy and come see the spiders with us!” Yuri held up his phone. “Sasha and Rykov will meet us there. Sasha says she’s looking forward to it.”

Viktor clung tight to Yuuri as they went through the exhibit. “I don’t like spiders. They’re creepy and crawly and I know they’re wonderful creatures but they creep me out,” he whispered to Yuuri. “I am not going to admit that out loud. Just stay close to me, okay?”

“Always.” Yuuri kissed Viktor’s cheek quickly. “It’s worth it to see Lev deal, isn’t it?”

 

The next day at practice, Yuri was still smirking any time he thought of Lev and the spiders. “He was awful last night, but it was so worth it. Then he ditched me at the hotel and went out and I didn’t have to deal with him this morning. Can we go see spiders every day the rest of the time we’re here?”

Viktor skidded to a sudden stop after a triple axel to stare at Yuri in shock. “Wait, what, Lev went out somewhere last night and left you alone at the hotel?”

“Uh, yeah, he texted me and said he’d be out all night and I shouldn’t wait up for him. Why?”

“If he does it again, call Yakov. His whole thing has been about wanting to spend time with you, and he keeps saying that you shouldn’t hang out with us because you’re keeping us from having fun… and now he’s abandoning you overnight?” Yuri was scowling, so Viktor quickly clarified, “I know you’re capable of taking care of yourself for the night, but that’s not the point.”

Yuri didn’t lighten up and he stayed cranky the rest of practice. He still threw the usual fit when Lev came to get him afterward. Rykov shook his head. “Too much to hope that someone has pictures of Lev out getting himself laid after ditching his son at the hotel?”

“Yeah, probably, but I think we can all agree that it’s better than taking Yuri with him when he went out to get laid,” Yuuri said. “Which is something I wouldn’t be completely surprised to hear.”

 

At the women’s team finals, Russia started out on vault, which Sasha would be sitting out. She didn’t mind a bit, it seemed, screaming hard for her teammates when they did well. Viktoria had a huge vault score, but they were still behind the Americans after the first rotation. “Sasha said that the Americans are likely to win, but I’m really hoping Russia can take it. Russia has never won, you know.”

“What are you talking about?” Yuuri asked.

“Soviet Union won a lot, and even the ’92 team was able to win that year, but _Russia_ hasn’t won since.”

“Oh. It would be nice to see Japan win, but looking at what they just did on the beam… it’s a difficult event, but I still don’t think it’ll happen. So go Russia.”

Bars went much better for Russia. Veronica started them off with a nice big score, and Sasha put up an even bigger one, putting them well above the Americans for the event. It didn’t quite close the gap from the vault, but it did put them up over China. Japan, on the other hand, dropped to last after a poor showing on the floor. Sasha looked a little disappointed with herself as they walked to the balance beam, to Viktor’s surprise.

Whatever was wrong, she recovered nicely. Both she and Veronika did great on the beam, and Sasha looked much happier with herself afterward. Even so, the Americans did better, reopening the lead. There was a huge gap between Russia and now-third place Romania. Japan struggled again and seemed destined for eighth.

On the floor, Russia started off with a disaster. It was awful. Not from Sasha or Veronika, but it would count, and it killed any chance of Russia overtaking the Americans. It didn’t help that the Americans all put forth amazing routines, although it didn’t shake Sasha. The Russians would finish with silver, despite the disaster, while Japan finished in eighth. Sasha was all smiles on the podium, hugging her teammates and the gold-medal Americans and bronze medal Romanians.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shopping Day and All-Around Finals

The next day, Lev once again decided to keep Yuri to himself. Sasha and the other skaters decided it was shopping time. Right at the start of it, Rykov disappeared. Sasha rolled her eyes as soon as she noticed. “He always does this. Then he shows up and is surprised at how much I’ve spent. I don’t do just a whole lot of shopping trips like this, we have the money, what’s the big deal about spending it?”

Viktor shrugged. “Yuuri usually comes with me, and as long as I’m not going overboard buying stuff for him, he doesn’t say anything about it. When it’s for the dogs or the triplets or Yuri and Natasha, he even helps me!”

“Speaking of the triplets, don’t forget their birthday’s coming up!” Yuuri said. “Sasha, have you talked to him about it? Viktor shopping for himself never bothered me, but I was his fanboy so it’s not like I didn’t know to expect that. Rykov doesn’t have that.”

“Yuri gets mad at me, now, too, but that at least I can understand,” Viktor added. “I don’t know whether to use Lev as an excuse to go nuts or take him as a good reason to keep things under control. Call me petty, but I want to show Lev that he’s got a long way to go to be anywhere close to the people who have no reason at all to be Yuri’s family but do it anyway.”

“Keep it under control, Vitya. Show Lev that the people who care about Yuri respect his wishes,” Yuuri said. “That said… I’m getting him this.” He held up a sweatshirt covered in a cobweb pattern with a large spider on the chest.

Rykov caught up with them at the pet store, and he showed Yuuri and Viktor the reason he’d disappeared – he’d gone to pick up the ring he’d ordered for Sasha. “Are we getting a pet, Sashka?”

“Do you want one? I just tagged along with these two, but having a dog or a cat might be nice. Or a bird. Or… what do you want?”

“Fish. They’re not cuddly, but they’re pretty, and I like watching them, and I think I’d enjoy messing with the tanks. What about you?”

“I want finches. I like birds, and finches are good because they socialize with each other instead of with people.”

Rykov smirked a little at the quick answer. “You don’t want something cuddly?”

Sasha stuck her tongue out at Rykov. “I have you and your massive collection of stuffed animals, I don’t think I need a cuddly pet. If I really need something furry to cuddle, I’ll take a couple days off training and go find Makkachin or Vicchan. I think we can do both fish and birds, don’t you?”

“Depends. Do finches eat fish?”

“I’m pretty sure they eat vegetables, and unless you’re going to put the fish in the bird cage or the birds in the fish tank, it shouldn’t be a problem anyway, right? Finches aren’t like parrots, they’ll spend pretty much all their time in their cage.”

Rykov smiled. “Yeah, that should work, then. We’ll have to figure out pet care for when we’re gone for competitions… the fish should be okay for a few days with just someone checking to make sure there aren’t dead ones floating around and maybe giving them some food, but birds probably need more than that.”

“Food, water, cage cleaning… but yay, now I know what to get you for your birthday!” Sasha kissed Rykov’s cheek. “Unless you’re going to throw a fit about the lack of surprise when I show up with a giant tank and whatever you put in there.”

“You’re the one who loves surprises. I'm just as happy to know." He paused. "Does that mean I’m supposed to wait until January to set up the birdcage?”

Sasha shook her head so hard her ponytail nearly smacked her in the face. “No. That’s my Olympic medal present.”

Viktor fake-pouted at Yuuri. “You didn’t get me an Olympic medal present…”

Yuuri gave him puppy eyes. “I'm sorry! I was so exhausted I didn’t think of it. Next time, I will get you something completely ridiculous.”

 

All-around competition started badly for Sasha – she didn’t fall, but she took several huge steps on her vault, giving her a huge hole to climb out of. Viktor tried not to worry – there were three events remaining, including Sasha’s two best, and she wasn’t out of it. Still, he clutched Yuuri’s hand tightly. “She’ll be okay, won’t she?”

“She’ll be okay. We knew she’d probably have trouble on vault. Don’t worry, Vitya.” Yuuri snuggled in.

Sasha responded with a huge routine on the bars. Viktor knew almost nothing about the elements of gymnastics, but he knew how difficult it must be for Sasha to make some of those twists and stops and changes of direction. Her score was over 16 points, which was huge. Through qualifications and the team finals, only one other score had gone above 16. The look on Sasha’s face when she saw the score confirmed Viktor’s feeling about just how huge a deal it was – as was her major climb in the standings.

Sasha continued the momentum on beam, even after watching one of her American competitors put forth an amazing beam routine. She did quite well, looking comfortable and pleased with herself as she stuck the landing on the dismount. Going into the floor routine, Sasha was in third, behind Veronika and the American with the amazing beam routine.

Sasha’s floor routine wasn’t as good as either of the Americans, but it was beautiful. After everything was finished, Viktor stared at the scoreboard in disbelief. “What happens now? Do they both get bronze?” One of the Americans had gold, Veronika silver… and then Sasha was tied with the other American for bronze.

“There are probably tiebreakers… highest individual event score or something like that. If it’s that, Sasha gets it no problem.” Yuuri squeezed Viktor’s hand and cuddled in tight. “I hope the tiebreaker goes Sasha’s way if they won’t just give it to both of them.” They never explained the tiebreaker, but it did go Sasha’s way, and although Viktor felt bad for the girl who lost, it couldn’t dampen his joy for Sasha’s bronze.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The all-around results are based on the real-world 2012 results. America's Gabby Douglas took gold, Russia's Viktoria Komova silver, and then Russia's Aliya Mustafina and America's Aly Raisman tied for third. The tiebreaker was to drop their lowest event (in both cases IRL beam; in this 'verse, the American girl's beam routine and Sasha's vault) and recalculate, which gave it to Aliya (Sasha).


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> End of the Olympics and more Nikiforov sibling resemblance.
> 
> Timeline: early August 2012

There were two days off between the all-around and the start of event finals, and Lev took Yuri to Canterbury and Oxford. Viktor wanted to go with them, which Yuri enthusiastically supported and Yuuri and Sasha agreed to easily enough, but Lev didn’t want them along. Lev could stop them from coming with them, but he couldn’t stop them from coincidentally going to Canterbury and Oxford – and no one could argue that taking Viktor on the historical tour was out of character.

“You know what the worst part of all this is?” Yuri complained when he snuck out to Yuuri and Viktor’s hotel room after they got back and Lev went out drinking again. “He won’t let me be on my phone texting Otabek or Mila or anyone else. He _hates_ you guys and doesn’t think I have any other friends. I’ve tried telling him that if he were my real dad, he’d be happy I had friends and stuff, instead of being a paranoid jerk about it.”

“What did he say to that?”

Yuri smirked. “He said that he is my real dad and I need to accept that. Somehow I’m not surprised my real dad sucks, otherwise Mama would’ve told me about him. That doesn’t make him my papa, though, and I don’t think he gets that. He got so mad when Boris called, even. Boris just wanted to know if I was coming out in December because he’s got a designer who wants me for a photoshoot, and Lev got all ridiculous and started pouting when I told Boris to ask Yakov but I should be able to be there.”

Viktor giggled. “I’m pretty sure even Lev has to know that he’s going to lose any attempt to keep you from your mama and Natasha on a holiday that doesn’t mean much to you or Lev but does to Natasha.”

“And that’s if he’s still around by then. Grandpa says he thinks he’s found what he’s been looking for, and if it holds up, Lev’s done.”

“Oh, that’s good news. Did he say what it is?” Yuuri asked.

Yuri shook his head. “No, he’s being stubborn. He says he wants to give Lev a chance to respond privately before he goes to the media. I don’t know why he’s trying to give Lev any courtesy at this point.”

“Maybe it’s not about Lev, but you or Irina? If he gives Lev the chance to hear it privately, Lev might back off without having to make this even more public,” Yuuri suggested. “I know you want to be famous because sponsors like the recognition factor, but this isn’t going to help much.”

“Yeah, okay, that I can see,” Yuri said. “Thanks.”

 

Sasha didn’t compete the first day of event finals – the only one for women was the vault, which she wasn’t in – so Viktor and Yuuri spent more time exploring London with Sasha and Rykov. Lev took Yuri to watch.

On the second day, Sasha had her uneven bars final. It was likely to be a difficult competition, with the Chinese competitors both being very strong and the British competitor having also broken 16 earlier in the competition. Yuuri was happy to support the Japanese finalist, as well. Sasha was practically bouncing off the walls. “This is my best chance at gold – we all knew the Americans were taking the team gold and I knew Vera would beat me in the all-around, and beam is just so unpredictable. I could win, or I could have my foot half a centimeter off on a landing and fall and be last. I like bars. They’re my comfort zone. This is the gold I really want.”

“You’re not going to get it if you’re so nervous you lose your grip on the bar, Sashka.” Rykov took her hands and kissed her forehead. “You’d better get going, it’s almost time for you to meet your coach, but take it easy, relax, and be ready to kick some ass today.”

“Thanks.” Sasha took a couple deep breaths. “Bye! Cheer hard for me!”

They cheered hard, and it worked out well. Once again, Sasha’s score was over 16. Nobody else managed that, and Sasha practically glowed as they played the Russian national anthem for her victory ceremony. When she met back up with the others, she was bouncing off the walls again, this time for a much different reason.

Rykov raised an eyebrow at her. “You know, Sashka, it would be really helpful if you’d hold still for, like, five seconds.”

“Huh?”

He held up the ring. “How am I supposed to get this on your hand when you’re constantly moving it? You said you wanted this after winning a gold medal. That’s a gold medal you’re wearing.”

The shriek of joy hurt. “I didn’t mean it quite this literally, Valera!”

“Well, I wasn’t taking any chances. You got your gold medal, come get your ring.”

 

The next day, Rykov found Yuuri. “I know you love Viktor, but do the dramatics ever leave you exhausted?”

Yuuri tried not to laugh too much. “A little… why?”

Rykov held up Sasha’s new ring. “She’s not allowed to wear it during the competition, which makes sense, it can’t be safe. She burst into tears when she gave it to me for safekeeping.”

Yuuri started laughing, trying to imagine Viktor’s reaction if someone made him take off his ring during a skate. “That makes sense. Skating’s different, if we’re using our hands for anything but choreography, we’re doing something terribly wrong. You might want to get her a chain to wear it on during meets… a chain’s harder to lose than a ring and she can easily slip it on and off on the side,” Yuuri said.

Despite the dramatics, Sasha looked poised and comfortable as she lined up on the beam. She put forth a lovely program, a blessing after Veronika had a near-fall off the beam. She ended up in a tie for third with one of the Americans – the one she’d tied the All-Around with – and this time, she lost the tiebreaker. She was perfectly happy to accept that result. Three medals was still a great result.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nikolai demonstrates how to slay a lion.
> 
> Timeline: August 9, 2012

Nikolai was at the airport when they got back to Saint Petersburg. He hugged Yuri and held out a hand to Lev. “Do you want to do this here, or take it to the rink or Yakov and Lilia’s?”

Lev shook Nikolai’s hand. “Not sure what you think you have on me to be so proud of yourself over, but let’s take it somewhere else. A busy airport is no place for wild accusations and family drama.”

Nikolai smirked. “As you wish. Yakov, where would be best?”

“Let’s go to my place – but not just yet. There’s another flight arriving soon that I’m waiting for.”

“Who’s coming?” Yuri asked. It was enough of a surprise for Nikolai to be here – who else would Yakov be meeting at the airport?

He didn’t have long to wait, as Irina, Boris, and Natasha hurried toward them. Nikolai took Natasha for a nice long hug before hugging Irina and shaking Boris’s hand. “Thank you for coming. Irishka, I hope you’ll forgive me for this, and for taking so long to find the paperwork.”

“If you get this asshole to back the fuck away from my son, I don’t care what you did all those years ago,” Irina said, putting an arm around Yuri and glaring at Lev. “What’s happening?”

Boris covered Natasha’s ears. “Irishka. Language.”

“Natashka, honey, you see this man?” Irina pointed to Lev, and Natasha nodded, eyes huge. “You are allowed to call him an asshole. That’s his name, see? No one else, okay, sweetheart?”

Yuri couldn’t help the laughter at the look on both Boris and Lev’s faces. “Asshole,” Natasha said very clearly.

Lev sputtered a bit, but he couldn’t figure out a good way to object without making the situation even worse. “Why is she even here?” he finally managed to spit out.

“Nikolai asked me to come for a family meeting about Yuri, Boris had business in the city, and Nataskha’s never been to Russia. It seemed like as good a time as any, and I don’t have to explain anything to you. I don’t owe you anything.” Irina stormed away, leaving everyone staring awkwardly after her.

Boris cleared his throat. “Natasha and I are headed to a hotel. I don’t know where Irishka is going, but I’m sure she’ll find her way to the meeting. Yuri, I’m sure you want to be at the meeting, but you’re welcome to come hang out with your sister whenever you have time around your training.”

“Thanks, Boris. Happy birthday, by the way. Bye, Natasha.” Yuri gave her a quick hug. “Come on, let’s get this over with.”

 

To Yuri’s surprise, Viktor and Yuuri didn’t come with them to Yakov’s. They went home instead to play with their dogs. “You’re not even curious?”

“Of course we are!” Viktor said. “The thing is, this is a family issue, and I know you and Yakov will tell us everything we need to know about what happens. This way, you can choose how much or how little to tell us about what’s said.”

“From a publicity standpoint, this makes sense, too,” Yuuri added. “No one can say that Viktor or I had anything to do with your choice if you tell Lev to get out of your life and stay out.”

So it was just Yuri, Nikolai, Irina, Yakov, and Lev in the meeting when Nikolai brought out the folder. “Irishka, I’m sorry, I should have told you about this years ago, when I first did it. I never thought Lev would stoop so low as to bully and force his way into Yuri’s life, lying about not knowing he had a child, or I’d have kept this paperwork much closer to hand and the memory much closer to mind.” Yuri looked at Lev to see if he’d argue with Nikolai’s characterization of him, but he didn’t. He didn’t look uncomfortable enough for Yuri’s taste, either. He just… continued to sit there, arms crossed, with a mild scowl.

“What did you do, Papa?” Irina asked. “I’d ask how you could underestimate just how low Lev could sink, but we all did that.”

Nikolai turned to look at Yuri. “You don’t remember this, I’m sure, you weren’t even a year old, but that winter was a bad one for influenza. All three of us got it. Irishka struggled to fight it because of her depression, and you were only a baby, you were very ill, too. It was up to me to fight, and I had to do what I could to get all three of us through it.” Yuri glanced over at Lev, who had started to frown. “I tracked down Lev.”

“You what.” Irina stared at Nikolai, eyes wide, and then turned to stare at Lev. “He _what_?”

Lev had gone pale. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Nikolai.”

Nikolai opened the folder. “I found an email address and sent you this.” He pulled out a printed email. “I told you that your soulmate and your son were ill and possibly dying, and that I was doing the best I could but that it might not be enough. I appealed to your humanity and your ego – you may care nothing for your soulmate, but your son was your own flesh and blood and didn’t you want to see what he could become?” He pulled out another printed email, along with some bank records. “You said you didn’t, but you returned some of the money you stole from Irina to her account. Just enough that I could afford to pay for a nurse to come and take care of Yuri while Irina and I did what we could to get better on our own. Following your instructions, I can show you that every cent of that money was used on Yuri – either for that illness or for his bout with chicken pox two years later.”

Irina glared at Lev. “You’d have let me and Papa die?”

Nikolai’s lips quirked into a small smile. “Now who is surprised at how low Lev will sink? More importantly, though, this proves that Lev knew he had a son ten years ago.”

“And his argument that I have to spend time with him is based on the lie that he didn’t know about me until last year!” Yuri jumped to his feet and hugged his grandfather. “Grandpa, this is great! This is exactly what we needed!” He turned to Lev. “Now fuck off. You saved my life, maybe, but you don’t want a son. If you did, you’d have come around before I was old enough to be starting to earning money.”

“I changed…” Lev tried to defend himself.

“I don’t care if you’ve changed or not. You’ve lied to me, manipulated me, manipulated the media to manipulate me, and the only reason you’re admitting any of that is because you’ve been caught. You knew about me, you didn’t care enough to come until I was skating, and even then you’ve done nothing but lie to me. So fuck. Off. Asshole.”

Nikolai put an arm around Yuri. “Right now, I’m willing to keep this between us. I’m not going to embarrass you in the press, because it’s embarrassing to admit that I couldn’t provide for my daughter and her son. I will take that embarrassment, though, if it’s to protect my grandson from you. I couldn’t save Irishka, but I can save Yurotchka.”

Lev didn’t answer. He just walked out. Yakov smirked. “You should probably get that to Isaak Shulichenko, just in case, but I think this might be over.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Scheduling note: I will be out of town/busy the next couple days. As it's for my grandmother's funeral, not entirely sure when updates will resume; Sunday at the latest is my guess.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beginning of the Junior Grand Prix. Some good, some bad, and a lot of JJ Style.
> 
> Timeline: August 2012

Viktor and Yuuri had one more trip planned before school started. Going to Japan for the triplets’ second birthday was impossible and they knew it, but they did have a shorter trip in mind. Yakov wouldn’t let them go for the whole thing, but he let them go to Courcheval to watch Phichit’s free skate in the first event of the Junior Grand Prix. After the short program, Phichit was in first, followed by Finland’s Mauno and Canada’s JJ.

They got in the night before and met Phichit for dinner. Phichit was very apologetic. “Celestino’s making me bring JJ. He’s… honestly, he’s not that bad, once you get under the bluster, but he’s also a little intimidated because he’s setting his sights on breaking the Katsuki-Nikiforov Stranglehold on Gold so he’s gonna be all bluster tonight.”

“Katsuki-Nikiforov Stranglehold on Gold?” Yuuri said through giggles. “Seriously? His name, yours, or press?”

“His name. He’s ridiculous. See you soon!”

JJ wasn’t too bad, at least not at first. Confident, sure, but that was probably a good thing. “Hi! I’m JJ Leroy. I’ve heard a lot about you from Phichit and of course you’re all over the media. Someday, that’s gonna be me, too! Everyone’s gonna know JJ Style.”

“Don’t be so excited about it, constant media attention sucks,” Yuuri said. “Nice to meet you. How are you liking America?”

“It’s not home, but Detroit’s not bad. The Red Wings are decent and there’s good college and amateur hockey, and being away from my mom’s cooking is doing wonders for my ability to stick to my diet plan. I miss my brothers and sisters, though. And Mom just found out she’s pregnant again, so that’s a little frustrating.” JJ forced a smile that Viktor recognized as a well-rehearsed media smile. “It’s worth it, though! My jumps have improved so much, working with Celestino. He says I may be ready to start learning a quad next summer!”

“That was the hardest thing since leaving for America, not being there for the birth of my youngest brother,” Phichit said. “When’s your mom due?”

“Next March. If I decide to go home after one year, I can be there for sure. Even if I don’t, it’ll be after Junior Worlds, I should be able to get home for the birth. Which is good, they could use my help looking after the little ones while Mom’s recovering.”

“You’re thinking about staying another year?”

“Yeah. Being away from home’s been good for me, being around skaters who aren’t my siblings has been good for me, and like I said, I’ve improved my jumps a lot. Another year would probably be a good idea, if I’m not too homesick. After all if I’m going to beat the two of you, I’m going to need every edge I can get!”

“That’s true enough!” Viktor winked at him. “When do you think you’ll be coming up to seniors?”

“Maybe next year, more likely the year after, possibly even the season after that. It’ll depend a lot on growth spurts… based on family history, I’m expecting them to start any time now. I should be up there by the time I’m eighteen though. Three years at the most, and then you’ll have JJ style to contend with!”

 

Phichit’s free skate was a little off, not good enough to hold onto his first place as Mauno took it from him. JJ took the bronze medal and acted like he’d won gold, much to Phichit’s annoyance. “He’s going to be obnoxious for the next month and a half… his next event’s not until October, and I’ll be hearing about how he’s going to win gold and get to the Finals until then. I’m counting on Seung Gil to kick his ass, and hopefully Togai can come through too.”

Yuuri hugged him. “Hey, you’ll make it to the Finals, too. If you have to you can kick his ass there.”

“Heh. Thanks.” Phichit’s face clouded. “Am I a jerk for wanting to beat him so badly? I mean, most skaters in junior men’s skating talk about hoping to face the two of you and beat you someday, why does JJ annoy me so much?”

“I don’t know, Phichit. I’m a little surprised… your powers of friendship have always seemed endless. Seung Gil?” Viktor teased.

“That’s mean. They’re completely different. Yuri would be the better comparison. Loud, arrogant but both of them have the ability to back it up… JJ doesn’t have Yuri’s anger, but he also doesn’t have the good reasons to be angry that Yuri does. He’s just a loudmouth for no reason at all that I’ve seen.”

“You know Yuri would kick you for comparing him to JJ. He hates the guy for some reason,” Yuuri said.

Phichit shrugged. “Am I wrong?”

“No, just don’t ever say it out loud where Yuri can hear you!” Yuuri said. “He’d never forgive you, even after you helped get Lev out in the open.”

 

Yuri paid close attention to the next week’s event. It was Otabek’s first time in the junior Grand Prix and Yuri was determined to support his friend. He was a little disappointed when Otabek finished seventh in the short program, but he couldn’t argue too much with the judging. Seung Gil finished first, and Togai third, behind French skater Matthieu Jacquinot. Yuri was just about to turn the TV off and get back to studying when he saw Stas’s name on the list of competitors in the pairs and decided to watch. Stas was not bad – not great, either, but he and his partner Salomet had a lot of room to improve in their throws and jumps. Their death spiral was impressive, though. He texted Boris to be sure to watch when he got a chance.

The free skate went better. Otabek put together a really good performance, which moved him up to fifth, and Seung Gil held on to his gold medal. Otabek wasn’t likely going to the Finals this year, which was disappointing, but not surprising. Yuri would have liked to hang out with him. It looked unlikely that Stas and Salomet would make it, either, after a fourth-place finish.


	13. Chapter 13

The new semester started with a bang. Once again, Viktor and Yuuri talked to their professors about their competition schedules. This time, there was less anxiety with it – they’d had some of the professors before, and they had classmates who knew them and would help them keep up with notes. Yuuri struggled a bit with the increased expectations, but he’d developed his coping strategies and had his support system. He had several literature classes this semester, but long plane rides were perfect for reading, and he had people he could work with to practice both French and Italian. The Latin was going to be a little odd, but he could do it. Viktor was in there, too, so they could work together.

 

The first weekend of September, Yuri had a competition in Belarus. He was not at all surprised when Yakov told him no triples – it was just him, Moises Alvarado from Spain, and Kazimir Karski from Belarus. Moises could do triples but wasn’t going to, and Kazimir had only just added a double axel. Yuri vaguely knew Moises from the year before, but he’d never met Kazimir.

He was not at all surprised when Lev showed up. “Yakov, look.”

Yakov scowled. “Focus on your performance. He’s not coming near you. Don’t worry about him.”

“Easy for you to say.” Yuri sent Lev a black look, but did his best to obey.

 

For the short program, Yuri was able to focus. There were a few angels in the stands, but most of his fanbase had just started school and wouldn’t be able to come, and the Ice Star was a brand new competition that no one would expect Yuri to be in. Lev was there, but he had a good reason to keep quiet and let Yuri skate.

His costume was simple – it was designed as a 70s style suit, complete with tie. He started his program with a double axel, which he barely got around. His other jumps were all doubles, and gave him no trouble. He was rather disappointed in his score, though – a 31 was very low, in his opinion. His performance score was much lower than he’d expected. Yakov ripping into him certainly didn’t help. What did help was seeing both Moises and Kazimir finish with a 23. Eight points and Moises had his double axel downgraded and Kazimir fell on his – Yuri could get the gold blindfolded.

He did, unfortunately have to deal with the press. “Yuri, why Charlie’s Angels?”

“I’m doing an angel theme this year for my fanclub. Having Yuri’s Angels supporting me is nice, and this is my way of acknowledging their efforts.”

“Did you approve of the mascot?”

Yuri froze. Yes, he had approved of the haloed lion at the time, but now it just pissed him off. He really didn’t want to get into the reasons behind it, but if he said he did, would Lev take that as a sign of forgiveness? What would Yuuri do? Yuuri would probably freeze and then babble something about yes, he liked it, and thank them again for their support. That wasn’t Yuri’s style. Okay, what would Viktor do? Viktor would come up with a distraction and a pretty-sounding meaningless answer. Talking about cats was something Yuri could do easily enough. “Personally, I’d prefer a tiger, but lions are pretty cool too, and easier to draw because you don’t have to worry about the stripes. Besides, it’s kind of neat. In a pride of lions you have the lion who gets all the attention – that’s me – surrounded by lionesses who do all the work of supporting the pride – that’s the fanclub.”

“So your fanclub is girls only?”

“What? No, that’s stupid, who wants a girls-only fanclub? The lioness thing is a… comparison thingy. I can’t remember the word in English.”

“And, of course, the club was founded by Lev Melikov, and the mascot is kind of a tip of the hat to him, isn’t it?”

“I guess.” It was, which was one reason he would prefer a tiger.

“You’ve spent the summer spending a lot of time with him. He claims to be your father. Is that true?”

“I guess. Everyone has to have a father in the sense that he’s mine, but that’s all he’s ever been to me. Mama’s soulmate who I never knew.”

“But this summer…”

“We’ve gotten to know each other a little, and I don’t feel like I owe him anything. That’s all I’m going to say about him.” That's what Isaak had told him to say if someone asked.

“Will you be changing your name, now that you know who your father is?”

This one Isaak hadn't prepared him for. He didn't need much preparation, though. There was nothing to think about. “I’m not changing my name. Even if, sometime in the future, I take my soulmate’s name, I’m keeping Nikolayevich.”

 

Surprisingly, there wasn’t a peep out of Lev, and Phichit got the Hamsters out to defend Yuri against the people calling him a heartless brat for his attitude toward his father. It was still harder to focus on the free skate, with it being Saturday and more angels able to come scream for him. This time, with the benefit of going last, Yuri would know what he needed to do, at least.

Yakov stared hard at him. “I know you’re not happy about that double axel yesterday, but you’re still the clear leader. You do not need a triple.”

“I wasn’t gonna do one. If I can just perform better, that’ll be enough.”

“Good boy.”

Moises got a little over 40, which Yuri had never been below. He was completely confident in himself when he took off. For this one, the fiery angel, he wore a glimmering white suit with gold and orange trim. His hair had grown out quite a bit, and Lilia had put it up in a weird halo-y braid thing. Holding still while she did his hair was annoying. Worth it, though.

He started out cleanly with a strong double salchow-double toe loop combo. He felt great as he went through his program, even when he struggled to get his double axel all the way around again. At least he didn’t fall or underrotate it. From there, he performed beautifully, until a double flip where he stumbled momentarily. It wasn’t too bad, and he didn’t let it shake him as he went into his ending combination spin. As he skated off the ice, he pointedly ignored all the lions in favor of grabbing the tiger and a snow leopard - that one because he didn't have one yet.

He felt he had a good shot at beating his triple-free best from the year before, which he did, but not by as much as he’d expected. Once again, his performance score was lower than he’d been expecting. He looked to Yakov. “Harsh judges or do I suck that bad?”

“Some of both. You’re thinking too hard out there, but if I were judging I’d have given you higher. You still got gold.”


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crispino Birthday Drama - happy eighteenth twins! - and Junior Grand Prix.
> 
> Timeline: September 2012

Viktor hummed quietly as he worked on homework. Yuuri came in, cell phone in hand. “Hey, Vitya, got a moment to wish the Crispinos a happy birthday?”

“Oh my gosh, it’s their eighteenth, right? Have they said anything to you?” Viktor set his book aside and turned to face Yuuri.

“No, I haven’t called yet.” Yuuri dialed and waited for an answer. “Hi, Michele! Happy birthday!”

“Not accepted unless you say it in Italian,” Michele said.

Yuuri laughed and repeated himself. He continued in Italian, “Can you talk about your soulmate yet?”

“I have one. Some kid. He’s a skater, I think. I really didn’t pay much attention to him.”

Yuuri’s glare at Viktor couldn’t stop him. “Why not? He’s your soulmate! Do you even know his name?”

“I’d recognize it if I heard it, I’m sure, but I can’t remember it off-hand. I’m going to have to deal with him eventually, but it can wait until he’s eighteen.”

“What about Sara?” Yuuri said before Viktor could say anything else.

“She won’t tell me. She seems to think I’d be a jerk to her soulmate.”

“I wonder why,” Viktor muttered. Yuuri shot him another look. “Anyway, happy birthday. Can we talk to Sara?”

“Sure. You’ll have to call her directly, though, she’s not talking to me.”

“Even if you’re planning to ignore your soulmate out here, why would you ignore them in the dream?” Viktor said as soon as Yuuri hung up. “Michele is an idiot! Why are we even friends with him?”

Yuuri shrugged. “Because he’s cool when it’s nothing to do with Sara, he helps us with our Italian, and Sara’s always fun and it’s hard to be friends with Sara without being friends with Michele too?”

“I guess. I hope she’s not an idiot about her soulmate.” Viktor did not want to deal with them both being idiots.

Yuuri rolled his eyes and called Sara. “Happy birthday!”

“Thanks. Is Viktor there?”

“Yes, I’m here, happy birthday!” Viktor said.

“Good. I need your help, but you have to keep this a secret.”

Yuuri and Viktor looked at each other, eyesbrows raised. “Oh?”

“Mila’s my soulmate. She doesn’t want to know until she’s sixteen so that we can avoid media issues, so you can’t tell her, and I don’t want Michele being an ass about it, so I don’t want him to know either.”

Viktor breathed a quick sigh of relief. Sara wasn't an idiot - and he wouldn't have to worry about Mila having an asshole as a soulmate, either. “So what help do you need from us?”

“If it does get out and back to Michele, I would hope her friends would be there to protect her from him if he decides to be an asshole about it, but you can only do that if you know.”

Sensible and sweet, as expected from Sara. “At least you’re not being dumb about your soulmate. Who else are you telling? Should we tell Misha and Georgi?”

“I’ve already told my parents, and I’m going to tell a few of my friends who I trust not to tell Mila or Michele, but I just want to be sure. Misha and Georgi are up to you guys, I don't know them well. I’d hate to start my soulmate relationship with Mila by disrespecting her wishes or siccing my overprotective brother on her.”

 

Later that day, while watching the Junior Grand Prix, Viktor got a text from Michele. “Emil Nekola.” Viktor looked up – that was the skater on right now, and Yuri had put down his phone to watch.

“He’s kinda skating like crap. I hope it’s not nerves. He’s smarter than that,” Yuri said as Emil flubbed a double axel.

Viktor sent an angry text to Michele – this could be his fault, if the dream left lingering traces on the other person like some people thought. Another reason not to be a jerk in your dream, no matter what you thought of your soulmate. Michele responded with some Italian that Viktor was certain he’d never learn in class.

Thankfully, in the free skate, Emil recovered well. He ended up fourth, to Yuri’s approval. “Glad to see Emil do better. If he manages not to fuck this up too bad, that means I’ll probably have an easy time transitioning up to Juniors too.” Mila was very happy with Leo taking silver – it put him in good position for Finals. 

In Istanbul the next week, Yuri paid close attention again as Otabek was skating. He did well, taking bronze – almost certainly not going to finals, but respectable for his first time in.

Mila was not happy that she had to miss Nika’s birthday to skate, but at least she was skating. Leo and Phichit were there, too, so she had fun people to hang out with. Phichit and Leo finished first and second, giving them both a trip to the Finals, which Phichit immediately called Yuuri to chat about. “Leo’s a junior member of the Saccharine Six, right?”

“Of course he is! If Viktor or I have anything to say about it, at least, and I can’t imagine Misha or Georgi or Chris saying no to you and Mila bringing your friends along.”

October started with two more finalists qualifying, and Emil earning his first medal. “Not bad. I bet I do better in two years,” Yuri said.

“You might. Or you might not. We’ll see. Don’t get too cocky, some people improve a great deal unexpectedly,” Viktor said, putting an arm around Yuuri and kissing his forehead. “Someone might get their breakout the year you arrive.”

Mila was skating in the last Junior Grand Prix event, in Chemnitz, along with Seung Gil and JJ. “Can you believe those two actually get along?”

“Actually… yeah, get along, I’d believe. Are they actually hanging out?” Yuuri asked.

“At the competitions, yeah, they are. They’re not like us hanging out together outside of the rink, but they kinda seem like maybe they’re friends.”

Thanks to some uncharacteristic mistakes, Seung Gil ended up in third place, behind JJ and Togai. The thing that upset Phichit the most about it, though… “The way JJ’s talking around here, you’d think he was in my spot going in as the first seed, instead of last seed. Good for him, I’m glad he’s going, but he’s really annoying me. If only Seung Gil had beaten him, then Saviliy would be going instead.”

“At least Seung Gil and Leo are going?”

“Yeah, there is that. And Mila, don’t forget Mila!” Mila had finished second in the ladies’, behind Canada’s Lucy Abernathy. Stas and his partner also qualified, just barely.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skate America Short Program and More Media Bullshittery.
> 
> Timeline: October 17-19, 2012

The first event of the senior Grand Prix was Skate America, which Viktor was skating in. Yuuri wasn’t able to come, because he was in Skate Canada the week after and Yakov wouldn’t let him go. Viktor was not happy about that, but he got happier when he landed at the airport. Kamil was there – with Nadiya and Kristýna. “She’s gorgeous! Does this mean you won’t be coming out exploring with me?”

“I wish I could, but Nadiya needed to get out and do something. Being at home with Kristýna is driving her crazy.” Kamil signed as he spoke, and Nadiya nodded and signed something back. “Good luck this weekend.”

“Thank you,” Viktor said to Nadiya, and added to Kamil, “Good luck to you as well.”

Yuuko, Minako, and Mari got in later that night. Yuuko ran straight to Viktor for hugs. “I miss Yuuri!”

“Me too.” Viktor hugged back. “He was very put out when he realized he’s not going to get to see you until Finals.”

“Sure he will! Not much earlier, but whether I make the Finals or not, I’m coming to Sendai to watch him.”

Viktor beamed and hugged Yuuko again. “That’s great! It’s not seeing you skate, but it’s still going to be good to see you. Where’s Takeshi? Home with the girls?”

“Yeah – they were going to come, but then my mom got a stomach bug, and Axel and Loop caught it from her. Honestly, I’m a little surprised Mari came – three sick two-year-olds is a bad time.”

Mari smirked. “That’s why I came. Supporting you two and Bin was just an excuse. Minako’s taking her chance to get out next week to go watch Yuuri.”

“What’s wrong with Lutz? Did she catch the stomach bug from her sisters?”

Yuuko shook her head, giggling. “No, she just had to be a little troublemaker and get an ear infection at the same time the other two were sick. How she hasn’t had the stomach bug, I don’t know, I’m just hoping it stays that way.”

 

The rain wasn’t enough to keep Viktor from exploring Seattle the next day, although with a smaller group than he’d hoped to hang out with. Kamil wasn’t there because of Kristýna, Yuuko decided to stay back – “I feel like I’ve used up my luck, not catching the stomach virus my girls have, no sense pushing it by going out in the rain.” – and Paul was going with Skye to visit her friends in the area. He still had Sasha and Rykov, Mari, Bin, and Masumi, Jolanda, and Ottavio. “Shame Chris couldn’t come, but he’ll need to be sharp next week, with Yuuri there,” Masumi said.

Viktor probably should have seen it coming, but he was still caught off-guard when he got back to the hotel to Yuuri’s call. “Press silliness.”

“Oh no, what this time?”

“One, you and Kamil are fighting because he didn’t go with you, and you and Yuuko can’t stand each other because you think I’m cheating on you with her. Somehow. In all the time I’ve spent in Japan lately.”

“Amazing how these ‘journalists’ can read minds, isn’t it? Does it say why I’m fighting with Kamil?”

“No, they don’t have a clue. One kind of floated that you’re mad he picked spending time with his soulmate and kid over hanging out with friends he doesn’t get to see very often, but even she couldn’t quite believe that.”

“Good. Because that’s completely not who I am. What’s the other one?”

“Well, since I’m cheating on you with Yuuko, you’re cheating on me with Masumi, since it’s well known that he and Chris cheat on each other all the time and Chris wouldn’t mind.”

“With… Masumi? Do I want to know?”

“Well, Sasha and Rykov are soulmates, Jolanda and Ottavio are soulmates, Mari and Bin are having some sort of press romance thing, so that left you and Masumi.”

“Yuuri? I don’t know how much more I can do to prove that I am completely devoted to you and would never cheat on you.”

Yuuri’s laughter made Viktor smile. “Good thing you don’t need to convince me. We know the media are a bunch of idiots, and we’ve been married over a year, obviously we’re getting bored since we got married so young and all. The cheating rumors aren’t going to get to me. I love you.”

“Good. This is going to be the new version of you and I aren’t really soulmates, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, probably. It’s okay, though, we’ll deal with it.”

 

On the first day of skating, pairs went first, then men’s skaters. Bin and Viktor had drawn skating first and second. Bin looked good, if a little distracted, and he put up a good score in the mid-80s.

Viktor’s short program was based on the water sports – sailing, swimming, diving. It was mostly focused on the water aspect, rather than the actual sports, as it was rather difficult to swim on ice. Things started out very well – thanks to the work he’d been putting in with Yuuri as Yuuri worked to master the quad salchow, his opening quad salchow-triple toe loop combo soared beautifully. His spins were all gorgeous, and the step sequence he’d put together that was supposed to evoke a swim race went smoother than Viktor had ever imagined it going.

Yakov was silent in the Kiss and Cry. Viktor wracked his brain trying to think why Yakov would be that angry at him. “Yakov, you do know all the media bullshit about me cheating on Yuuri is just media bullshit, right?”

Yakov turned, face purple and eyebrows drawn so low Viktor wasn’t entirely sure there were still eyes underneath. “Are you seriously asking me that?”

“Well, you’re… you’re pissed at me, and I don’t know why…”

“I wasn’t pissed until you asked me if I would entertain for even a second the idea that you or Yuuri would cheat on the other!”

“Then…”

“I’m not saying anything because, just this once, I honestly don’t think you could have performed any better so there’s nothing to tell you about. Keep working, don’t get cocky when you have a new world record, there’s always tweaks and adjustments you can make, but you did good.”

Viktor’s jaw dropped, but the score came up then. Yakov was right – a new world record, just over 95. Paul, Rykov, and Sachio all did respectably, getting into the 70s, and Kamil finished the day off with an amazing score of 88.

 

The media was their usual charming selves. Viktor had a world record, but the first question: “Viktor, what do you have to say about the rumors about you and Masumi?”

“At least it’s not Chris again? Yuuri trusts me, everyone I love knows that I would never even think of cheating, and these rumors are just silly ways for people to try to sell magazines and newspapers and internet advertisements. The only thing they’re doing is making themselves look silly.”

“Can you tell us the real reason you and Yuuko didn’t hang out?”

“Yuuko didn’t want to be out in the rain. Kamil brought his wife and daughter and didn’t want to inflict a baby on us. Paul was visiting friends in the area, although I notice he got left out of the rumors. Paul is our friend, too, and always welcome!”


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladies' short, men's free, and more media silliness. Only maybe not entirely silly?
> 
> Timeline: October 20th, 2012

The next day, while they warmed up, Paul playfully shoved Viktor in the shoulder. “Skye said that if she sees rumors that I’m cheating on her with you, she’s gonna kick you in the balls.”

“Why? She has to know…”

“Because you practically dared the press to do it, you goober.” Paul shook his head. “Thanks for sticking up for our friendship, though.”

“Of course I did! Hopefully Skye will forgive me, because Yuuri won’t be very happy if she damages something.”

 

The ladies’ short program was the first event that day, and Viktor was in the stands watching. Iona skated second, and she pulled off quite the beautiful program. It would be difficult to beat at a 60. Yuuko was skating eighth, and by the time she took the ice, only one other person had broken 55, France’s Rachelle Mossé. Yuuko had a good skate, but a couple miscues put her at 58, second behind Iona. Neither of the last two skaters got anywhere close to her. In the ice dancing, Masumi and Jolanda dominated easily. They were the last skaters and led by six points after the short dance.

The men’s free skate started off with skaters Viktor didn’t care much about, so he focused on getting himself ready. The last skater of the first group was the first one Viktor cared about, and that only because he was Japanese. He did well, much better than he had the day before. Paul kicked off group 2, and he made a couple bad mistakes, including popping his triple axel. It was enough to drop him below Sachio. Rykov held on to do quite well, but Bin had a fall on his attempt at a quad salchow that was enough to drop him below Rykov and guarantee the Russian a medal. Kamil shone in his performance, taking the lead from Rykov.

Viktor’s free skate was almost all gymnastics, although he started and finished like a track race. His opening jumping pass was a quad flip-triple toe loop combo, which he did smoothly. His first step sequence was done with an imaginary ribbon, from rhythmic gymnastics, and the crowd loved it even as Viktor noticed several minor errors he was sure he’d hear from Yakov about. He fell on his quad Lutz – oh well. He was able to shake it off and recover nicely. From there on out, he was fine – both his triple Lutz-triple loop combo and his solo triple Lutz were clean, and his flying upright spin, based on Sasha’s favorite beam spins, was lovely.

As expected, Yakov had quite a bit to say about his step sequence, and he didn’t neglect the quad Lutz fall. Viktor’s score of 170 was an excellent starting point for the season, though, and more than good enough for gold. Kamil and Rykov hadn’t been his first choice for the podium – Kamil was fine, but he’d have preferred Bin or Paul to Rykov – but he was perfectly happy to accept it.

Today, at least, the reporters felt like talking about skating. “I assume your sister inspired your program?”

“As an Olympian myself, I’m always happy to support other Olympians. My experience of attending the London games was amazing and I’m very glad I went! And, yes, Sasha had a strong impact on my program, even if I went more with the rhythmic events than the artistic. If the ISU ever changes their mind and lets us do backflips, I’ll be happy to revisit this to make it more like Sasha’s!”

“You fell on your quad Lutz. Given that we rarely see falls from you, are you disappointed with yourself?”

“No – rarely isn’t the same as never, and you only rarely see falls because you’re not at my practices! I spend a great deal of time on my butt on the ice, just like any other skater. The quad Lutz is a very difficult jump, and I’m okay with having fallen. I intend to do better next time, of course, but falls are a part of this sport.”

“Speaking of Sasha, she and Rykov announced their engagement in London. Did Rykov ask your permission?”

“Why would he? Sasha’s the one he’s marrying, not me, and my opinions on soulmates are well enough known that he knew I wouldn’t try to convince Sasha not to do it.”

“Yuuri’s sister didn’t marry her soulmate and seems to have no intention to do so.”

“I would hope not, given that he’s married to another woman who would prefer Mari to stay out of their lives.”

“Does that cause problems between you and Mari?”

“No. I wasn’t around when it happened, but Yuuri and the rest of the Katsukis have told me enough about what happened to understand her reasons for cutting him out of her life.”

“So when Mari and Bin get married, you’ll support them?”

Viktor did his best not to laugh at them. “It’s news to me that Mari and Bin are even considering it, which I suspect means that they aren’t and you’re just fishing for scandal. _If_ Mari and Bin ever decide to pursue that kind of relationship, I see no reason why I wouldn’t support them. For now, though, to the best of my knowledge, they are friends.”

“So you haven’t seen the reports of Mari’s pregnancy?”

Viktor very nearly let his shock show. Only the fact that he was sure it was bullshit kept him from it. “I have not, and I can’t imagine they’re true. If they are, good for her, but I find it difficult to believe Yuuri and I wouldn’t be among the first people she told.”

Bin and Mari weren’t hard to find after the press conference. Mari rolled her eyes at the wedding rumor. “People are dumb. We’re friends. Neither of us even wants to date yet, let alone get married.”

“That’s what I thought. Then they got even sillier. Mari, why didn’t you tell me about your pregnancy?”

Mari and Bin exchanged glances, and Bin nodded. “Because we’re still talking about it," Mari said. "I was going to talk to you and Yuuri first, make sure you’re not wanting to have a kid in the next couple years or so…”

“Wait, what?”

Bin cleared his throat. “My parents are putting a lot of pressure on me to have a child, now that I no longer have the excuse of my soulmate being in school.” Viktor made a face at that. “I was blowing off some steam to Mari a couple weeks ago, and she said she wouldn’t mind as long as you and Yuuri weren’t planning anything before she’d be recovered from this one. I haven’t even told my parents that, so I’m guessing the media is playing darts.” He looked to Mari. “Darts? Is that right?”

“Yeah, that’s right. I’ve talked to Minako and Mom about it, but no one else. Neither of them would’ve said anything.”

Viktor stared between them, mouth hanging open. “Why are your parents so eager for you to have a grandchild?”

Bin shrugged. “I’m their only child, and without a soulmate to look after me when I get old, a child’s the next best thing. They were pulling this when Lian was still alive, too, but at least then they understood that it would have to wait until she’d finished school. My dad’s nearly sixty and he says he regrets having waited so long to have a child and doesn’t want me to make the same mistake.”

“Nothing’s anywhere close to decided yet. You can tell Yuuri, but otherwise, keep it quiet,” Mari said.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back from America, off to Canada. Viktor, Yuuri, and Misha discover something about their coach that they probably ought to have known, or at least suspected, but are shocked by anyway.
> 
> Timeline: mid-October 2012

Yuuri was as surprised by Mari and Bin considering a baby as Viktor had been, but once he got over the shock, he agreed that they should support them if they decided to. “We’re not planning on getting a kid anytime soon, are we?”

“No, of course not, if they decide they want to do this I’m all for it. I was just surprised – and even more so that the media guessed it!”

“Yeah, that’s the big shocker." Yuuri smiled and picked up his phone. "Speaking of shocks, I talked to Phichit earlier – the 20th was his brother’s 18th birthday. He’s trying to figure out what to do with a three-year-old soulmate. Phichit wanted to know what you thought, since your parents were like that.”

“All Papa did was contact Mama’s parents to let them know he existed, their daughter had a much older soulmate, and that he would be waiting whenever she was ready to come to him. They didn’t even tell her about him until she was fourteen, and that was only because she had a guy claiming to believe they were soulmates. That happens, you know, when kids have money. She came to Papa when she was sixteen and they got married three years later.”

“Is that what you think Thongchai should do?”

Viktor shrugged. “It worked for Papa and Mama. It'll depend on the parents whether it's good or bad. Papa decided to take the risk because he recognized the family name and suspected there might be trouble of the sort that happened. Doing nothing works, too, if he doesn't want to take the risk that his soulmate's parents won't take it well or will try to get him more involved in their life than he'd be comfortable with.”

Yuuri laughed at him. “Viktor Nikiforov is advocating doing nothing about discovering your soulmate?”

Viktor stuck his tongue out at Yuuri. “If I’d thought I could keep quiet, I’d have done nothing for a couple years, unless you asked me to come earlier anyway. Doing nothing is a good option when your soulmate is young. I’m not mad at Michele for not telling Emil yet, I’m mad at him for not talking to him in the dream. I’m not mad at Sara.”

“I know, it’s just funny,” Yuuri said. Viktor gave a rueful chuckle – it was rather amusing, he supposed. “Tell Yuuko I said good luck!”

“I will. I love you.” Viktor pressed his hand to his laptop screen.

Yuuri pressed his hand to match Viktor’s. “Love you too.”

 

Masumi and Jolanda took first place in the ice dancing. The ladies’ free skate closed out the competition. French skater Roselyne Delafose made a big move, but not big enough to pass her countryman for bronze. Yuuko’s free skate was just enough stronger than Iona’s to give her gold, with Iona silver. A good start for Japan, in ladies’ skating anyway.

For the exhibition, Viktor touched briefly on a bunch of sports – drawing applause when, after a swordfight, he plopped down on the ice and just sat there for a bit, a tribute to a fencer who spent over an hour sitting on the piste in protest of a controversial ruling. At the end, he skated to center ice and took his gold medal out of his pocket. The music changed to the Russian national anthem as he put it on. After all, ending on a medal ceremony was only right.

 

Back home, he had a wild couple of days trying to catch up on the work he’d missed for Skate America and collect work to take with him to Skate Canada. His second year at university was proving to be quite the jump in difficulty from the first one, and he was grateful that he had excellent classmates who were willing to help him out.

On the ice, he focused on the step sequence that had given him trouble and his quad Lutz. Yuuri was hard at work polishing everything up for Canada. He’d decided against trying the quad Salchow for now, not feeling he quite had it ready to go. Instead, he focused on making sure everything else was as clean as he could get it.

 

The flight to Ontario was long, and both of them spent most of it either sleeping or studying. Misha teased them both a bit for being nerds, but it was friendly – and he spent his time watching film he’d downloaded on young skaters. “What’s that for? Nika’s still a bit young to start training,” Viktor teased.

“It’s not official, but with the trouble I’ve been having with my knee lately, I’ve been thinking this might be my last season. When I retire, I’m planning on taking a year or two off for various trainings, and then I want to be a teacher and coach for kids. Part of Yakov’s farm system.”

Viktor nodded. “We’re going to miss you, but if your knee is giving you too much trouble…”

Yakov harrumphed. “If your knee is giving you enough trouble this season, walk away. Don’t stay next season for the Olympics.”

“I know that’s the smart thing, but they’re in Sochi. One last Olympics, going out in my home country, the appeal is very strong,” Misha said.

“I know. I stayed on longer than I should have because of the Olympics, and they weren’t even in Russia. I was older, but I could use better drugs to deal with the pain and speed recovery.”

All three skaters stared at Yakov in disbelief. “You doped?” Yuuri said, eyes huge.

“Everyone did in those days. I’m not saying that makes it right, but it wasn’t until later, when it became such a big deal, that I even thought about whether it was right or wrong. It was just what you did when you got hurt.” Yakov shook his head and scowled. “I’d thought we’d learned our lesson, but history is repeating itself. I’m not getting it much, my skaters are good enough without it and figure skating isn’t helped by steroids as much except for injuries, but I’ve heard from some of the speed skating and hockey coaches that the government is pushing them to do what they need to do for the glory of Russia.” Yakov glared at his skaters. “If I find out any of you three are doping, I will kick you out of the rink. The world’s changed, and you don’t need it.”


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skate Canada and a new media prank.
> 
> Timeline: late October 2012

A lot of their friends were in Canada. Masumi and Jolanda had come to watch Chris, Georgi had come with Anya, Michele was there to support Sara, and Jude, Yuhan, and Lukas chose to hang out with them as well. The party was good fun, and that was before the big surprise.

Yuuri was not expecting the glomp. “Oof! What…”

“Hi Yuuri!” Phichit jumped off his back. “Surprise!”

“Phichit! What are you doing here?” Yuuri’s face lit up in a brilliant smile.

“Detroit’s just across the river, so Ciao Ciao said I could come hang out as long as I don’t skip school. He’s gonna come watch the actual skating, too!” Phichit made a face. “He’s also bringing JJ. Sorry.”

“We’ll live, I promise. JJ’s not that bad.”

 

The next couple days there wasn’t much time to explore, since everyone was skating. The ladies skated first. The first skater up was a Russian, so Viktor and Yuuri made sure to be there to watch her. She struggled a lot, and Yuuri felt bad for her as he saw the tears in the Kiss and Cry. Sako finished the first group, and she did very well. Sara, starting out group 2, couldn’t quite catch her. Of course, Kang-Hee took the lead for the day.

Yuhan skated first for the men, and he put up a respectable, though not great, performance. Yuuri skated at the end of the first group. By then, only Jude had broken 80. After Viktor’s amazing performance the week before, Yuuri felt the pressure to respond, to let everyone know that he was keeping up with his husband. It showed, too, as he bobbled his opening quad toe loop. For this version of the program, he’d put together some of the more aggressive music from Mass Effect, and his skating was also based more on power than beauty. It was a departure for him, but other than that early mistake, he felt like he’d done all right.

Yakov’s critique was harsh, but Yuuri listened attentively. Of course there was a lot of room for improvement in this program. His score was also somewhat disappointing, only in contrast with how Viktor had started his season, but Yuuri still felt bad about only making 88.

Misha’s season started disappointingly as well. It had been a long time since he’d missed 80, but he ended up with a 78. Christophe, though, started out well, putting up an 85 that was the best start to a season he’d ever had.

“Yuuri! Last week, your husband took the world record in the short program; this week, you didn’t break 90 like you’re used to. Can you tell us what happened?”

“I’ve never broken 90 in my first competition of the season. I’m confident that by next time I’ll be better settled into my program and know what I need to do, so I’ll do better. Viktor had an amazing skate last week, and I’m very proud of him, and I’m confident that I can do better and give him a challenge.”

“Misha had a bad day, too, do you think he’ll recover?”

“I think so, yes. I know I’ve seen him skate that program much better in practice, so I have no doubt he’ll bring himself back.”

“Your skating is different from anything we’ve seen from you before, almost angry. Is this in response to something? Is Viktor…”

“I’m going to stop you before you say the most idiotic thing you could possibly say. If I were angry with Viktor for some reason, there are far more productive ways of dealing with it than designing a passive-aggressive skating program. The anger in my skate is because this skate represents the more aggressive, extreme choices you can make. The character I portray will stop at nothing to protect those he cares about.” He winked at the cameras in a credible imitation of Viktor. “It also represents how angry I was last spring at the ending given to this game!”

Naturally, the internet completely ignored what Yuuri actually said in favor of speculating on the trouble in Viktor and Yuuri’s relationship. Yuuri couldn’t stop laughing, and he told Phichit to have the Hamsters go radio silent on defense. “Trust me. They’re going to be so confused tomorrow.”

“Another media prank? Remember what happened last time,” Phichit warned.

Yuuri just grinned. “Last time we let it go for months. This time it’ll all be cleared up tomorrow. It gives me something to focus on other than how much I need to redeem myself from today’s skate!”

Phichit shrugged and passed the message along to the Hamsters. It didn’t stop the defense entirely, but it was halfhearted. When Yuuri checked it before the ladies’ free skate started, there was a lot of confusion.

 

Alena continued to do somewhat poorly, leaving her way down the rankings. Sara did well, still, but not well enough to overtake Sako for silver. Kang-Hee extended her lead for gold. “That’s all right. Bronze still puts her in a good position for Finals, Michele.”

Michele shook his head. “Not really… she’s in the NHK with Sako and Skye, and Cathy’s looking really good. Bronze here isn’t comfortable for Finals. She has a chance, but not a good one.”

The first group in the men’s skate did mostly as expected. Lukas continued to look very good, letting him stay ahead of Clarien. There was still a big gap between him and Misha, who did better today, but not better enough as Jude also had a good day. Christophe, with the help of his quad Lutz, managed to put up a score over 160 to take first. That just left Yuuri.

His costume was identical to the one for the short program – black trousers and a white shirt, worn with a brightly colored jacket and bow tie. The only difference was the color. For the short program it had been red; the free skate was blue. The music today was much more peaceful, and Yuuri enjoyed himself immensely. This skate’s choreography was much more classic Yuuri, with heavy ballet influence and an emphasis on grace and precision. He opened well with a quad flip-double toe combo, but then fell on his second combo. He shook that off easily, and by the time he finished his program, he felt very good about it.

Yakov approved as well, and Yuuri was very pleased with his score. 175 was a good score for him at this point in the season. Viktor met him with a big hug and a kiss for the gold medal as he came off the ice, and they went out to the press conference together.

“So… is everything mended, then?”

“Yes, of course, we always put together our competition programs overnight,” Yuuri deadpanned. Viktor didn’t bother to hide the snickering. “As I said yesterday, my program had nothing to do with Viktor, it was all about the character. Today’s character was the other side of that character, the peacemaker and diplomat. It also represents my satisfaction with the DLC that fixed the ending I'd been so mad at, of course!” 

“Your fans didn’t jump to your defense the way they usually do. Does that upset you?”

“Not at all. They knew something was up.”

“You didn’t quite catch Viktor’s score from last week. Does that worry you at all?”

“No. Two points isn’t that much, especially with us both having falls. We won’t compete against each other until Finals anyway, or Worlds if one of us doesn’t make Finals, so there’s plenty of time for us both to improve.”

“Do you think it’s likely either of you misses Finals? You’ve both got gold medals.”

“Likely, no, but certainly possible. I’d prefer not to jinx that.”

“What about Misha? He finished fourth here, do you think that puts him in position to make the Finals still?”

“He can. His next competition is the Rostelecom Cup, so he’ll be on home ice, and I have faith that he can do better there than he did here.”

 

For the exhibition, Yuuri’s costume was identical, but this time the coat and bow tie were green. He had a lot of fun with this one, showing off several of his dance skills and bringing them into harmony with each other. It had been difficult to choreograph, even with Lilia’s help, and he was very happy when the crowd enjoyed it so much.


	19. Chapter 19

None of the seniors were competing in the Cup of China, so Yuri got to have Yakov with him at the NRW the next weekend. On the way out, he texted a lot with Otabek, since it was his birthday.

**Happy birthday. Did you get to go home?**

**_No. I’m in school here in Moscow and I already missed for competition._ **   
**_Anton says I need to get used to it, because in America, I won’t be able to get home much at all._ **   
**_I know he’s right, but it doesn’t make it any easier._ **

**Ugh. That sucks. Are you at least getting to do something fun?**

**_My rinkmates are taking me out to dinner. Other than that, no._ **   
**_School, homework, practice._ **

**Sorry, dude. Hope things are better next year.**

**_I got a birthday present you might be interested in._ **   
**_Or you might tell me to get rid of it. Which I will do if you ask._ **   
**_My sister Rayana signed me up for Yuri’s Angels._ **

**What the fuck. Why would she do that?**

**_I don’t know. She knows I’m friends with you._ **   
**_I can keep it for spying or get rid of it. Up to you._ **

Yuri thought it over. It would be nice to have someone on the inside, working to make it a better club, but Otabek didn’t need the toxicity in his life.

**I don’t care. As long as you don’t get creepy on me or anything.**

**_Deal._ **

 

At the hotel, Yuri kept an eye out for Lev or angels. He didn’t trust his fan club, not knowing that Lev founded it. He didn’t care that supposedly Lev wasn’t actually in charge – trusting the angels was just not going to happen.

Thankfully, at least for the first day, the angels left him alone. After practice, Richard caught Yuri. “Hey. Laser tag? My coach is organizing a trip.”

“Sounds great! Let me check with Yakov.” Yakov approved, as long as Yuri was careful, so he got to go have fun shooting people with lasers. After that, he stayed in his room and studied.

 

Yuri spotted Lev just before the short program, and pointed him out to Yakov. “Do I have to do anything, or can I ignore him as long as he leaves me alone?”

“Ignore him. If he approaches you, do your best to get away and tell me. Text Kolya if he gets too persistent.”

“Good. Last year he was a minor annoyance. This year he’s been a huge pain.” Yuri put on his headphones to listen to music. Lev didn’t try to engage before Yuri was due to report for his competition.

He was skating in the second group of three. By the time he got up there, only two skaters topped 30. Not a problem for Yuri. He skated his saccharine angel program. With Yakov’s blessing, he did two triples – a Lutz and a loop. His spins were very good, but the trouble he had connecting with this program meant that his overall score was lower than the year before. It upset him, but still, a 45 was almost certainly going to hold up.

After the skate, Lev continued to leave Yuri alone. He went back to the hotel to study and watch the Cup of China short programs. Not all of those guys were going to be his competitors, but some of them would. There were some good skates, and Bin finished the day on top, with Michele in second. Mila’s friend Cathy had the lead in the ladies’ skate, followed by Yuuko and Saila. Skye had a fall on a triple Lutz that had her in fifth, behind Raisa.

 

The next day, Yuri got to the rink to find a screaming horde of Angels waiting for him. Lovely. He spent way more time signing autographs and taking selfies than he’d wanted to, leaving him limited time to stretch out and warm up. Yakov stared him down. “You’ve got a twelve point lead. Push yourself as much as you’re comfortable with, but do not try to do more than you can. I don’t want you hurting yourself out there trying to impress sponsors.”

Yuri listened, but he had no intention of dialing back today. He didn’t often get the excuse to let loose and skate to his full potential, and he was not about to waste it. He stretched himself out meticulously, warming up as best he could. He was skating last, so he had time. In warmups, he did all the triple jumps he knew.

Last year, Yuri had broken seventy. This year, when Yuri took the ice, no one had done that. Richard was closest at 65. He had this easily – but he was still going to push himself. He felt good. It showed right away in his triple salchow-double toe combo, and he kept it going. The only jumps he left as doubles were his double axel, since Yakov wouldn’t let him go for the triple until Juniors, the second jump in his combos, and a double flip in his last combo. By then, he was starting to get tired, and he’d made his point. The triple Lutz he tried wasn’t great, but at least he didn’t fall.

Yakov went through his mistakes and faults with him, and never said anything about Yuri pushing himself too hard. He was exhausted and looking forward to a nice warm shower, but he felt good. He didn’t even need to wait for the 83 to come up to know he’d gotten a gold medal, but that 83 was very exciting. He’d won by thirty points. That ought to get sponsors’ attention. Downsides: it didn’t bode well for having any real competition this season, unless it was at the International Challenger Cup and one of the American or Asian skaters was going to pull out something cool, and it also brought more angel attention.

It also brought press attention. Yuri wasn’t quite prepared when a reporter got in his face. “Congratulations, Yuri. How did it feel to win by such a large margin?”

“Good.” If they were going to ask a stupid question, he wasn’t going to dignify it with an elaborate response.

“You spent a great deal of the spring and summer with your father, getting to know each other. We haven’t seen much of you two together the last couple months. Why not?”

Yuri tried not to smirk too hard. “Turns out he’s a pretty crappy dad even when he knows he had a kid. I gave him the chance he thought I owed him, and I think I’m better off without him being heavily involved in my life.”

“Does this mean that Viktor and Yuuri will be adopting you?”

“No. Why does that stupid rumor keep popping up? I don’t need anyone to adopt me. Mama and Grandpa have no intention of giving me up.”

This time, Lev did approach him as he was trying to leave. “You skated well today, Yuri.”

“Thanks. Now fuck off.”

“Don’t talk to your father that way.”

“Too bad you never acted like my father.” Yuri turned and walked away, leaving Lev calling after him. He didn’t stop.

Once he’d taken a nice long relaxing shower, he settled in to watch the Cup of China. Bin won, giving himself a decent shot at making the finals even with his crappy Skate America, and Michele got second. Not bad. Yuuko got the ladies’ gold, which did send her to the finals. Cathy and Saila crashed, both dropping out of the medals, but Skye recovered beautifully to take silver, and Raisa got bronze. Yuri was happy with those results. Masumi and Jolanda took the silver medal for the ice dance, which was quite the surprise. Yuri had never heard of the gold medalists, a French couple that looked pretty young for seniors.


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rostelecom Cup and Trophee de France

The Rostelecom Cup was both excellent and somewhat disappointing. Viktor certainly wasn’t going to complain about the podium – Georgi on top, Misha second, Chris third – but Misha, with a 4th and a 2nd, was hardly guaranteed a berth in the Finals. It had been so long since Misha had missed, and it was just another reminder that Misha was getting old and wouldn’t be at the rink much longer – leaving Viktor as the eldest skater there. Anya and Christov secured their trip to the finals, at least, and Iona became the second lady from Japan in the Finals.

Viktor was well rested, and had worked ahead as much as he could in preparation for back to back trips to Paris and Sendai. Going to Paris without Yuuri was especially difficult, since they had made such good memories there on Yuuri’s eighteenth birthday.

Jude was turning 21 the day of the short program, so the day before, Viktor, Su, Rykov, Sasha, and Paul, along with some of the ladies’ skaters, took him out to celebrate. “Shame Yuuri and Skye couldn’t be here,” Jude said. “I hope they both do well next week.”

It was fun, but it didn’t help Viktor’s missing Yuuri, especially when they got in late and Viktor’s text to Yuuri went unanswered. In the morning, Viktor barely woke up in time to get to practice – not that that was unusual. After practice, he was finally able to call Yuuri.

“Vitya! Hey! Have you seen the news?”

“Oh no.” Viktor curled up on his bed. “What have I done now?”

“Abandoned me to party like you’re a typical irresponsible twenty-three-year-old instead of a married man with a career and a family. I assume by that they mean Yuri, but who knows.” Yuuri laughed. “And of course you chose Paris to go party in because it was rubbing in my face that you’re no longer tied down and you can do whatever you want, not because you have a skating competition there or anything.”

Viktor couldn’t hold back the laughter. “I’m sorry, Yuuri, will you please forgive me?”

“Come home with a ticket to the Grand Prix Finals or don’t come home at all. Partying in Paris without me? How could you?”

“Yes, Yuuri. I’ll even bring you a gold medal!”

 

Paul drew the first skate, and he did well, setting a good bar at 75. Rykov struggled a bit, falling on his quad salchow, which put him just below 70. They were the top two by the time Viktor skated in the second group. Right from the start, he knew it wasn’t going to be nearly as good as it had in America. It wasn’t that he was having trouble; he just wasn’t having as good a day. Yakov had it easier telling him what he’d done wrong, but he didn’t worry too much about it. Even with a score of not quite 88, he was still well in the lead and he didn’t think any of the remaining skaters would challenge him. He was right – Jude closed the gap a little, making it ten points instead of thirteen, but it was still ten points, and neither Rory nor Su were even close.

Viktor was looking forward to the media questions. “You didn’t do as well as you did in America – does this have anything to do with being out too late partying?”

“No, not at all. I got a good night’s sleep and rested well between morning practice and competition, so I felt fine. America was a magical skate, the kind that skaters dream of, and it’s very difficult to replicate those days. That’s all. If it weren’t for America, everyone would be saying what a wonderful score I’d earned!”

“Have you seen the rumor about you and Paul?”

“I have not, but if it’s what I think it is, thank you for not forgetting that Paul and I are friends and I owe Skye an apology for setting it up.” Viktor winked to the camera.

There was laughter. “What about the rumors that you’re having some sort of difficulty with Yuuri?”

“I think it’s silly. Yuuri’s not here because he has to skate next week and Yakov never lets us go to each other’s competitions when they’re that close. If he were here, he’d have been partying with us, and I’m not going to miss a friend’s birthday party just because Yuuri couldn’t come. Speaking of – I’d like to wish Jude a happy birthday and congratulate him on his second-place finish today.”

“If he makes the podium here, he’s got very good shot at the Finals. Would you like to see that?”

“I certainly wouldn’t mind! I mean no offense to him but if it’s him or Misha I’d rather have Misha, but Jude is a good friend and I’d love to see him at his first Finals.”

“What about Rykov? He’s currently tied with Jude.”

“Same thing. There’s no such thing as too many Russians in the finals!”

 

Before the free skate, Viktor spent the day studying and talking to Yuuri. It was very relaxing, and he was in a good mood when he headed over to the rink. The good mood stayed through the first group, as the skating went mostly well. Rykov’s free skate went very well, for him, and his 154 held up to put him over Paul and on the medal stand. Jude took the lead from him with 155. Viktor would have an easy time winning this one.

Viktor started well, with a strong quad flip, and he’d cleaned up his ribbon step sequence. The quad Lutz went much better this time, as he managed not to fall, which made him that much more comfortable going through the next jump combos. He kept the pressure on as he twirled and danced, until he broke the imaginary ribbon at the end of his race and held up his hands in triumph. It was good. It was gold.

That didn’t mean Yakov didn’t have a lot to say, of course. His performance score dropped a little from America, but without the fall, his total improved to 172. Rykov’s bronze meant that he still had a chance, but was likely out – and Jude’s silver meant Misha was probably out, as well. There were already four skaters ahead of him, with five skaters in the NHK who already had one medal. On the ladies’ side, Yuuko and Iona were joined by Kang Hee.


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> NHK provides the last finalists.
> 
> Timeline: November 2012

Viktor wasn’t home long. Just long enough to drop off completed work, pick up new work, and take an exam he’d missed. After that, he and Yuuri were off to Sendai. Mari and Minako met them at the airport. “Yuuko, Takeshi, and the girls are at the hotel. Ready to deal with three two-year-olds?” Mari said.

Viktor lit up. “They’re here? Yay!”

The triplets were still adorable. They were starting to be trouble, though, and Yuuko was glad to see Viktor and Yuuri because there were now extra adults to help keep the three of them corralled. “Your parents will be here on the 24th, to watch you in the free skate, and if it’s okay with you we’ll celebrate both our birthdays then.”

“That sounds great! Between school and Viktor being in the Finals, we weren’t going to get to go to Hasetsu, so I’m glad they’re getting to come up here for the day.”

 

Exploring Sendai was fun, since most of them had been there before. They had a great time shopping and hanging out and speculating on what the media was going to say about them. Paul was there to watch Skye skate, Chris and Masumi were there, Yuuko and Takeshi… plenty of good options for the next cheating rumors. Kamil had brought Nadiya and Kristýna again, but this time, Olesya and Anatolij babysat so Kamil could go hang out with his friends.

The first day of skating featured everyone except the pairs skaters, starting with the ice dancers. Olesya and Anatolij took first place. The men were up next, and Georgi got to go first. He starting things out well with an 86, very impressive for him. Yuuri was very happy to see it. Surprisingly, it only held up through one skater, as Kamil earned an 87 skating third.

Yuuri kicked off the second group. He’d been working hard on this program, since it was the one that stood out so much this season, and it showed. His opening quad toe loop was good, and his step sequence was very good. His layback spin went well, and when Yuuri got to the triple axel he was finishing on, it was one of the best he’d ever done.

Yakov left the axel and the layback spin alone, and had to work very hard to find things to talk about. “Good day, I take it.”

“Yeah… I did well on some tests last week, the girls are here, I have good competition to rise to.”

Rise to it he did. Even more, he set another world record, beating Viktor’s by three-tenths. He felt a little bad for Michele, who had to skate after him. Michele didn’t seem too rattled, but he didn’t get anywhere near the top three. Kaleb did rattle a bit, ending up below Michele, even.

Viktor couldn’t get to Yuuri fast enough when he got out of the changing room, and Yuuri only just kept himself upright as Viktor threw his arms around him. The reporters waited patiently while Viktor congratulated Yuuri on his record.

“You did very well today, Yuuri. Viktor, are you looking forward to the Finals to try to take your record back?”

Viktor grinned. “Of course! I very much hope Yuuri and I will have a nice showdown. Yuuri has to get there first, but I have faith that he’ll do it.”

“Any more thoughts on having kids? You seem to be enjoying your friends’ kids.”

Yuuri shook his head. “We do plan on it in the future, but we both think we’re too young to want children now. Our friends’ children are adorable, and we’re looking forward to it, but not yet.”

“Yuuko was about your age now when she had her children, and Viktor is several years older…”

“That’s true, but the triplets were unplanned. They love their girls, but they’d meant to wait until Yuuko was retired to have children.”

“So it was a mistake?”

“It was an accident, yes, but I wouldn’t call it a mistake. Neither would they. Either way, that can’t happen to me and Viktor, we have to make a conscious effort to have children, so we have full control of when it happens.”

By the time they got in to watch the ladies, Skye had already skated. She was in the lead, only a few tenths higher than Sako. Sara couldn’t catch them, but Emily Landon took the lead. Afterward, Yuuri and Viktor went out to dinner. It was fun – the most fun was watching Emily try to flirt with Michele again, with Sara egging her on, and Michele being completely oblivious.

 

Olesya and Anatolij won the ice dance, and Yuuri didn’t pay much attention to the first group of the men’s skate. Once the second group started, he came back. Kaleb recovered a bit from the day before, while Michele stumbled a bit, trading places. Kamil and Georgi also traded places, Kamil getting about a point lower than Georgi so that their overall scores were separated by two tenths.

Yuuri was not expecting to do as well today as he did yesterday. Viktor had helped keep him calm, but still, it wasn’t going to be a perfect skate. His hesitance showed in his opening combo. He recovered well, until he put a hand down on a triple salchow. There were no more mistakes from then out, giving him a good program but not another great one.

Yakov made sure to let him know it, too. His 177 was better than it had been in Canada, which pleased Yuuri. It was also better than Viktor had been able to do this season, giving him a good chance at gold at the Finals. The gold medal was nice, of course, and he was all smiles. Georgi had taken silver, and Kamil bronze. Yuuri and Georgi had made the Finals, and he was just waiting to hear how the tiebreakers went. Bin was in, he knew, with a gold, but there was a three-way tie for fifth between Christophe, Kamil, and Jude, who each had a silver and a bronze. The next tiebreaker was highest free skate score, which Kamil had easily with his 164, and Chris also had a score over 160 while Jude did not. Jude was first alternate, Misha second.

Instead of going straight out to the press, Yuuri decided to stay and watch the ladies. He was glad he did, as Skye managed to pull out the win over Sako and Emily. Sara finished fourth, which was not going to be good enough to get her to the Finals this year. Skye, Sako, and Emily all did.

Going out to meet the press was fun. “Is it good to have the Finals full of your friends again?”

“Yes, it is. We’re going to miss Misha, of course, but everyone there is a good skater who deserves the spot. It’s always nice to compete against friends, it certainly makes for a more comfortable holding area when we all like each other.”

“Have you ever wondered if skaters sometimes befriend you and Viktor because they’ve noticed that your friends do well?”

Yuuri laughed. “Well, whatever their reasons for it, it means friends for me. Misha and Georgi are our rinkmates, Chris and Kamil were our friends long before the Saccharine Six got noticed and named, and Bin was a top skater on his own long before we became friends. So no, I don’t think anyone’s befriended us with an ulterior motive there.”


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Press silliness leads to an emergency change of plans for the exhibition, and Yuuri's birthday.
> 
> Timeline: end of November 2012

There was a big Hasetsu party after the free skate, with Yuuri and Yuuko and Takeshi’s families meeting up at the hotel. Their friends came as well, and Yuuri and Yuuko got to have a wonderful joint birthday party/gold medal party – although the triplets stole the spotlight.

Before the exhibition skate, Yuuko found Yuuri. “Did you see that we’re in a catfight?”

“Over who, Takeshi or Viktor? Or are we both trying to cheat with the same guy?”

“No.” Yuuko giggled. “Someone, somehow, took you saying that the triplets were an accident and turned it into you saying that I’m an idiot for having risked my career to have kids so young. So now I’m pissed at you and refusing to speak to you or let you see my girls.”

“Oh no!” Yuuri shook his head as he laughed. “Where do Viktor and Takeshi stand?”

“Well, Takeshi’s obviously pissed at you too, and Viktor’s taking your side. So he should be cut off from the girls, too – but somehow the money I’m earning with my skating isn’t enough to provide for three small children and if I cut Viktor off my babies would starve.”

“Wow. Are they writing news articles or soap opera plotlines? Even without the skating, the ice rink’s doing well enough to support your family, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, thanks to everyone wanting to train where the Olympians did. But, you know, I was a teen mom of triplets, and you know what happens to teen moms.”

“They have the best chance of meeting great-grandchildren?” Yuuri hugged Yuuko. “Please forgive me and let me see the girls again.”

“It doesn’t matter how mad I was at you, I wouldn’t punish the girls like that!” Yuuko hugged back. “If they ever made a movie about my life, that’s the plotline now. Young girl’s dreams come crashing down when she finds out she’s pregnant, but with pluck and determination and a little help from her soulmate and her friends she makes it back to the top of the sport. It doesn’t matter what else I do.”

“I’d watch it. I guess mine is a boy swept off his feet by a dashing older soulmate and struggling with the demands of his high-profile life and his ambition to be the best in the sport?”

“Yeah. I’m just trying to decide if they make you buy into those rumors about him faking it despite what you were saying to the press, or if they sell it as a Viktuuri movie instead of a Yuuri movie.”

Yuuri hastily revised his exhibition skate plans. Viktor was supposed to join him – it was all about synthesis, after all! – but instead, Yuuko would come out. There wasn’t time to get her a properly green costume, but Emily overheard them talking. “Yuuko, you and I are pretty close to the same size, my costume might fit you well enough and it’s mostly green. Want to borrow it?”

Yuuko started giggling. “Worth a try!”

 

When Yuuri came out, everyone started looking for Viktor. When Yuuko joined him on the ice, instead, there were a lot of cheers. It had been a while, but Yuuri and Yuuko had skated together for years; they had no trouble following each other’s movements and putting on a good show.

Yuuri was ready when Phichit called. “I take it you saw the thing about your fight?”

“Yep. Have they changed it to Yuuko and I are cheating on Viktor and Takeshi yet?”

“Sort of? The site that started it is saying that you two were just able to push aside your differences because this is your home country and you were pressured to do this by the JSF because they couldn’t have their top men’s skater fighting with their top ladies’ skater. Then there’s the obvious about you and Yuuko cheating, and one theory’s going around that Yuuko’s cheating with Emily because she was wearing Emily’s costume.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah. Emily’s already responded to that on Twitter, saying that she and Yuuko are friends and she was happy to contribute to the shenanigans, but there’s nothing to read into it.”

 

Back home, Yuuri spent the next week working hard on getting caught up at school. Viktor worked hard, too, but he paid a little better attention to things, and came into their bedroom on the 29th to close Yuuri’s laptop. “Come on. It’s break time.”

“But…”

“Nope. Come on. You are getting up and coming downstairs.”

Yuuri opened his laptop. “I’m saving my work, _then_ getting up and coming downstairs. If I lost anything, I’m not coming.” Fortunately, everything was still right there when he got logged back in, so all he had to do was save.

Yuuri had been expecting Yuri, probably Mila and Georgi and Misha. It was just Viktor. “You need a break, and it is your birthday. Look.” Viktor led Yuuri to the dining room, where there was a table set for a romantic candlelit dinner for two. Yuuri raised a questioning eyebrow at Viktor. “Just go with it, okay? Have a seat.”

Yuuri sat in the chair Viktor pulled out for him. He was very curious to see what Viktor had planned now. He nearly started laughing when Misha came out, wearing his very best interview suit, to show Yuuri a bottle of wine. Yuuri nodded, so Misha poured him and Viktor each a glass and set the bottle on the table. “Your appetizer should be along shortly.”

Once Misha was gone, Yuuri couldn’t hold it in anymore. “You got our friends to set up a fancy dinner for the two of us?”

“You’re half-right. This was actually Georgi’s idea. A way to give you a birthday party on your actual birthday, like the Russians do, while letting you spend it having a nice evening with your soulmate, Japanese style. Your birthday usually ends up around the time of the last Grand Prix event so we can’t really celebrate, but this time everything’s so early that it worked out.”

"Wow. Remind me to thank Georgi, this is perfect!"

“Everyone’s contributing. Cooking, serving, helping clean up afterwards, providing music… Yuri said he had a special surprise for you and that you were not allowed to go anywhere near the kitchen today.”

That special surprise turned out to be katsudon. “It’s probably not as good as your mom’s but I was on Skype with her and Mari while they told me what to do. Hope it’s at least somewhat good, anyway.”

Yuuri took a bite. “Wow! It’s not Mom’s, but it’s the closest I’ve ever had that wasn’t either hers or mine! You did great, Yuri!”


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Off to Barcelona!
> 
> Timeline: early December 2012

Barcelona was interesting in December. Christmas was everywhere, to Yuri’s rather vocal disgust. Viktor liked it – there was a neat atmosphere with the bells and the lights and all the evergreen everywhere. “We have to make a trip to the Christmas market while we’re here, Yuuri.”

“Good luck getting Yuri to come.”

“What’s he going to do, sit at the hotel? He’ll have fun, and besides, he has Christmas shopping to do!”

“That’s true. It’s weird, being here without Misha.”

“I know.” Grand Prix Finals, Europeans, and Worlds, Viktor had almost always gone to with Misha. “I guess we should start getting used to it, if he’s thinking about retiring, but no one said we had to like it.”

“Yeah. At least we’ve got Chris and Georgi who should be around for a while. It’s going to be weird when you retire, if I keep skating.”

“Well, you wouldn’t be going to competitions without me unless you tell me to stay away!” Viktor kissed Yuuri’s cheek. “Why wouldn’t you keep skating after I retire? You’re enough younger than me, you’d still have some good years left in you.”

“Yeah, but without you, it won’t be the same. Georgi’s the same age you are, Kamil and Bin are older, Chris is closer to you than to me, we’ll probably have an entire generation of top skaters going out within a few years, so why not go out with them?”

Viktor shook his head at Yuuri. “I am surprised and disappointed in you.”

“If it were just you, I’d probably stay, but…”

“Do you really think that’s the way to repay Phichit for his years of friendship and internet protection? Going out before it can be the two of you ruling the podiums for a few years? And Yuri, I may or may not get to compete against him, but you should have a few years with him. I would hate to see you retire too early just because you miss your old friends. You’ll make plenty of new friends to skate against!”

“Yeah, I guess. You do have a good point about Phichit and Yuri. Yuri would probably kick me if he heard I was even considering retiring before he had the chance to show me how much better than me he is.”

 

Yuri’s first reaction to hearing the plan to go shopping after practice was, predictably, to raise a fuss about going to the Christmas market. “I guess it makes sense for Chris and Emily, but none of the rest of us even celebrate. Wait.” Yuri looked to Kamil. “Do you?”

“Yeah, twice, actually. Once on the 24th and 25th in Czech, and then again on the 7th in Ukraine. Makes it easy to decide whose family to celebrate with!”

“Okay, so that’s three. Why do the rest of us have to go?”

“Well, you’re forgetting Masumi and Jolanda and Otto, they’re coming with us. Mila said she might bring a couple of the other junior ladies, who might celebrate.” Viktor patted Yuri’s head. “And then there’s you.”

Yuri smacked Viktor’s hand away. “Me? I don’t celebrate Christmas.”

“So you’re not going to America this year?”

“Well, yeah, but…”

“So you’ll be celebrating Christmas with your sister!”

“I guess.” Put that way, going to the Christmas market didn’t sound too bad after all. There were a lot of neat things to see, and since he wasn’t skating, he could buy and eat Christmas candy. Not too much, but it was better than being Mila or one of the old guys who had to compete. He found some cute presents for Natasha and his mama, and after a short hesitation, he bought a nice scarf to give Boris. He’d been exactly what Yuri had needed this year, giving him good advice and helping him fight back against Lev. Besides, he was supposed to be a good role model for Natasha.

 

The first day of competition was all the short programs for Juniors. Phichit finished the day in first place, Seung Gil in third, Leo fifth, and JJ sixth. Everyone except JJ was happy with where they were – JJ was disappointed in himself after a fall on his triple Lutz. Mila was third in the ladies’, to her surprise. Yuri stayed to watch the pairs long enough to watch Stas and his partner Salomet. They were good, obviously, but clearly outmatched by the other teams competing.

After the competition, Yuri caught up to Stas. “Hey.”

Stas looked at him in confusion. “Hi? Do I know you?”

“No.”

“Oh." Stas exchanged a confused glance with his partner. "Who are you and why are you talking to me?”

“I’m Yuri Plisetsky, and I’m your stepbrother.”

Stas stared at him. “Which side?”

“Boris." Yuri would have thought that would be obvious, but... then again, Boris hadn't known Stas skated for years. "He hasn’t told you about his new family?”

“I knew he was living with someone and I know about Natasha, but I didn’t know they’d gotten married.”

“They haven’t yet. They were going to last summer but then some shit happened and they decided to wait. They weren’t planning anything huge so it wasn't that big a deal to cancel.”

“Guess that’s why Papa wants me to come out there for Christmas. Huh.” Stas crossed his arms. “Look. If you’re looking at Boris to be your papa, run like hell in the other direction. He sucks.”

“Mine’s worse. Boris is just an asshole. Lev’s a lying, thieving shitbag who only showed up in my life because he thinks he can use me to get money.”

Stas blinked. “Okay then. Sorry, man, that must suck.” The girl beside him cleared his throat, and he reached out and took her hand. “This is my partner and soulmate, Salomet Mannonova.”

“Nice to meet you. Soulmate, huh?”

“Yeah. I got crap luck with parents, but if that’s what it took to make me her soulmate, I’ll take it.”

Yuri made a face. What was it with people finding their soulmates and turning into idiots? “Ugh. You’re as bad as Viktor and Yuuri.”

Salomat squeed. “I knew your name was familiar. Heir apparent to the Katsuki-Nikiforov skating legend!”

“Do you have to bring that up?”

“Sorry," Stas said, as Salomat settled down. "What does Boris think of your skating?”

“He thinks I’m good and it’s great that I have something that requires me to be in Russia while he and Mama and Natasha are in America so we don’t see each other very often. Especially since he’s not having to pay for it at all. I told him you skate.”

“So that’s how he suddenly found out about it. I was wondering. He’s not being anywhere near as bad as I’d thought he would, either.”


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> GPF continues!
> 
> Timeline: December 7, 2012

The 7th began with the junior men’s free skate. Leo had an excellent skate. Not good enough to get into the medals, but quite close. Seung Gil came from behind Togai to get up to silver, and Phichit got a shiny gold to show off. Yuuri was very eager to get to him after the medal ceremony to kiss it, but there wasn’t much time before he wanted to be back in his seat to watch the senior ladies’ short program. He ended up missing the start of Emily’s program.

Japan had a rather disappointing start – despite having three finalists, only Iona was in the top three. Yuuko fell on a triple Lutz, and Sako messed up her double axel. Skye, on the other hand, had an excellent skate, and Kang Hee easily won the day.

Yuuri didn’t know anyone in the junior ice dance, so he met up with Yuuko to give her a big hug. “You’ll be okay! You can come back from this easily.”

“I’m not going to beat Kang Hee, but I can get on the podium. If I don’t, though, I wouldn’t mind seeing Iona and Skye be the ones up there. It’s nice competing against your friends, it helps soften the blow of losing.”

“I know!" Speaking of... "Hey, Phichit!”

Phichit looked up from his phone. “Yeah?”

“Gold medal in the Junior Grand Prix, does that mean you’re coming up to Seniors next year?”

Phichit shrugged. “Probably. Ciao Ciao thinks I’m ready. We’ll see what happens at Junior Worlds, and I’ll be talking to Seung Gil. I think he's planning to move up, in which case I definitely will. After all this time it would just be weird, skating without him.”

 

Yuuri and Viktor couldn’t stay to watch the senior ice dance because they needed to start getting ready for their short program, but Yuuri kept an eye on it to watch how their friends did. Anya and Christov had some trouble with lifts, which left them in fourth place for the day, while Jolanda and Masumi had a good day but couldn’t quite hold off the French skaters.

As had become tradition, the men’s skaters gathered at the end of the warmup period for a group huddle and davai, this time led by Bin, as the oldest skater present. Kamil skated first and had his best performance of the season so far, allowing him to hold the lead through Christophe and Bin. Georgi started well, but he fell on his triple axel, which dropped him to last place.

Thanks to Viktor having the higher free skate score during qualifiers, Yuuri skated before him. Once he got through the quad toe loop, he was able to relax and focus on his performance. Destruction, violence… Yuuri had fun thinking about one of his favorite minor plots, having to deal with an obnoxious reporter. In real life, Yuuri would never do it, but in the game, he could not resist the temptation to throw the punch. It was certainly something to fuel his performance – and something he would never, ever admit to the press.

It wasn’t as good as it had been in Japan, but still, Yuuri was confident in his performance. “You know, I was skeptical about this theme, but you’re doing very well with this,” Yakov said. He, naturally, had criticism where Yuuri could have done even better. He was a point lower than in Japan, but a 94 was still huge.

Viktor set out to make a statement right away, with a beautiful quad salchow-triple toe loop combo. He’d made some tweaks to his program, raising the difficulty a little bit, giving him a better chance against Yuuri. It was the Olympic ideal, perfect for his theme – competing with the best to showcase the sport. For all the press was ridiculous about the Katsuki-Nikiforov circus, men’s figure skating had never been more popular.

Yakov had quite a bit to say about it, and Viktor was not surprised to get his score of 93. One point was about the difference between his best free skate score and Yuuri’s, so he had a good chance of winning gold still.

The press caught up with Yuuri and Viktor quickly. “You two have a good advantage over Kamil, in third. Do you expect to win gold and silver tomorrow?”

“That’s always our hope!” Viktor said. “There’s always the possibility of collapse or injury, or a breakout stellar performance by one of the others, so I never assume anything, but I think we’re certainly positioned well.”

“The two of you have been very dominant recently. Do you think being soulmates is responsible for it, or are you soulmates because you were destined to be the top two in the sport?”

“There have been many rivalries in the history of sports that have been two dominant athletes facing off against each other, and nearly always, they’re not soulmates,” Yuuri said. “I don’t think I’d be here if I hadn’t been Viktor’s soulmate. I wouldn’t have left home for world-class coaching as young as I did, and I can’t imagine anyone being a bigger supporter than Viktor has been for me. Maybe I’d have made it by now, but I don’t think I’d have been what I am.”

“I think I would still be a top skater, Yakov’s skaters nearly always are,” Viktor added. “I wouldn’t have pushed myself quite as hard, I don’t think, and I wouldn’t be having nearly as much fun! Yuuri’s influence on me has been less about skating and more about reminding me that there’s more to me than just skating. I’d still be here, but I wouldn’t be anywhere near as happy.”

“Georgi didn’t do as well as expected, and Misha, of course, missed the Finals. Is Yakov losing his grip?”

Viktor stared blankly at the reporter, then Yuuri, then back at the reporter. “Every skater has bad days. Every skater falls. Georgi had bad luck, doing it here in the Finals, but I expect to see him recover easily. Misha had his bad day in a qualifier, and since only six go to the Finals, that unfortunately left him out this year. If you look at Mila and Yuri Plisetsky, I think it’s obvious that no, Yakov is not losing his grip at all. Skaters can’t stay on top forever, and that’s not their coach’s fault.”


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Russians get a little sarcastic making the point that Yakov is awesome and his skaters are awesome too.
> 
> Timeline: December 2012

Yakov hugged his boys as soon as he had the chance, Georgi included. “I can’t say I’m surprised about the question, but it is ridiculous. Georgi, don’t let this get in your head, or if you do, use it as motivation. Bad days happen. I’m sorry yours happened on this stage, but I know you can come back from it.”

Georgi nodded. “I wasn’t upset by the bad day until I saw them blaming you. Now I’m just pissed. I think the best response I can do is to deliver a good program tomorrow. No amount of coaching can keep someone from falling, but your coaching is how we pick ourselves up afterwards and carry on.”

“Good. Viktor, Yuuri. You two both had changes you were thinking about. Are you still going to go for them?”

Yuuri nodded. “I’m going to. I know I can do it, and if I do fail, I know what to say to the media if they try to blame you.”

“Me too! I’ve been looking forward to it all season, I’m not going to stop because idiots are being idiots,” Viktor added.

 

Mila was the first of Yakov’s skaters to have the chance to go out and show the world that Yakov hadn’t lost his edge. She’d been in third, which she improved on, passing Corinna to take silver behind Kei. She was very happy with that, and it showed on the podium as she could barely hold still for the pictures. Once she finally was allowed, she found the others to collect medal kisses from anyone who was willing to kiss silver.

Salomat and Stas ended up finishing last in junior pairs, which was fine by them. “We were longshots just to be here,” Stas explained to Yuri when asked why he was so happy with losing. “Sure, a medal would be nice, but we’re the first from Uzbekistan in any discipline to make the Grand Prix Finals.”

Sako did better in the ladies’ skate, as did Yuuko. Skye still beat Yuuko, but Iona took her turn to have a bad day and ended up dropping to third, guaranteeing Yuuko a medal. Likely bronze, since Kang Hee was the last skater, and sure enough Kang Hee came out and did exactly what was expected of her. Skye got silver, Yuuko bronze.

Yuuri, Viktor, and Georgi followed the ice dance from where they were warming up. Anya skated better than Yuuri had ever seen from her. The American team couldn’t beat her and Christov, and even Masumi and Jolanda fell a little short. The French skaters had enough of a lead from the day before that they held on to their gold medal, but not by much. Georgi started cursing.

“What’s wrong? After yesterday, that’s great, isn’t it?” Yuuri said.

“That’s amazing – and I’m not able to go congratulate her. Who’s the idiot who decided we go right after ice dance both days?” Georgi grumbled. “Especially today, with me skating first.”

“Skating first is a good thing, then!” Viktor said. “You can go find her right after you get your score! Hopefully we’ll need you back for the medal ceremony, of course, but no reason you can’t go give her and her medal some kisses first.”

Georgi skated well. His program was solid, clean, and gorgeous. His score likely wasn’t going to get him a medal, but it was a clear statement that he was still one of the best skaters in the world. Christophe came out blazing, landing a quad lutz-double toe loop combo and a quad salchow-triple toe loop as his first two jumps. His score was huge, 179, putting a lot of pressure on everyone else. Bin rose to the challenge, but not enough. Kamil started well, hitting a huge quad salchow, but then he landed poorly on a triple axel and it was clear he was struggling with the rest of his jumps. He dropped all the way to last place.

Viktor was so glad it was him and not Yuuri having to skate after that. They walked out together, exchanging a quick kiss before Viktor stepped on the ice. He started well, landing his quad flip-triple toe loop cleanly. His triple axel was also clean, as was the quad Lutz. The biggest change in his program came on his fifth jumping pass, where instead of the combo he’d been doing he went for a quad toe loop. He stepped out of it, but that was three quads in his program. He stumbled again on his final jump, now a triple Lutz, out of exhaustion, but he was quite happy with himself as he skated for the Kiss and Cry. Yakov didn’t let him off easily, and his score wasn’t quite record-breaking. Still, 187 gave him the lead over Chris, and Yuuri was going to have to pull off his routine well to win.

Yuuri came out swinging, landing his quad flip-double toe loop cleanly. His program, much more serene and beautiful than his short, continued to go well. He was only making one change to it – a triple salchow just after the halfway point became a quad salchow. He got the rotations in, but he fell on the landing. Viktor flinched, but Yuuri popped right back up and hit his next jump, a triple Lutz, cleanly. When he hit the quad toe loop at the end of his program cleanly as well, Viktor started cheering. Yakov spent quite a bit of the time in the Kiss and Cry talking about the salchow, which Yuuri listened to while Viktor did his best to distract him with cuddles and the one kiss. Yuuri earned a 186, but his overall of 281 beat Viktor’s 280.

“We’re finally here,” Yuuri said as he, Viktor, and Christophe posed for pictures. “The three of us on the podium at the Grand Prix Finals, this is great! I never thought I’d be the one in the middle, though.”

“Whyever not? You’ve beaten both of us before, it can’t be a surprise that you did it again!” Viktor said. “I’m so proud of you.”

 

The media, as always, was eager to talk to the gold and silver medalists. “Yuuri, you fell on your quad salchow. Was that a surprise?”

“Not really. In practice, I think I’m hitting about 75% of my attempts, which was good enough for me to try it – especially after my husband pulled off his three-quad performance and set the bar so high for me! It was a risk, and even with the fall, it paid off with the higher base value.”

“What did Yakov think of you taking that risk?”

“He thought that it was worth it, and that if I felt good, I should go for it. Yakov encourages us to take risks on the ice – it’s the only way to improve. I’m very glad my husband went before me and did so well. I do better when someone’s given me a challenge, and Viktor certainly threw one down there.”

“Viktor, you didn’t do a new quad, but this is the first time you’ve done three in one program. What made you decide to do that?”

“As Yuuri said, Yakov encourages us to take risks and to push ourselves. I don’t have quite the same stamina my husband does, but there was no way I was letting him do three quads in one program and not at least trying to myself!”

“You seemed very happy to be on the podium with Chris. Was that who you’d hoped would be there with you, or would you have preferred another Feltsman Sweep?”

“Other than each other, Viktor and I don’t have much preference for who we share a podium with. The hardest part of being part of something like the annual Saccharine Six is knowing that three of us won’t make that podium. We’re all very good about celebrating with whoever does make it and sympathizing with those who don’t. It was amazing to share the podium with Chris. Back when Chris and I were still in juniors together, the three of us said that one day we wanted to be here, and to have that years-old dream come true is great.”


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuri's family grows.
> 
> Timeline: December 2012

After the exhibition, most of the Russians went home. Yuri went to America to visit family there. Stas and Salomat came, too, and they met up with Nikolai in Moscow. “Is the wedding happening this time? For real?” Yuri asked after claiming a hug.

“To the best of my knowledge. I hope so. I may not care much for Boris, but he has good intentions, and it’s good to see Irishka happy and settled. After Lev, I never thought I would see her take this chance. I’m proud of her.”

Yuri scowled, but he nodded. “I guess. It means she’s not gonna come home, though, doesn’t it.”

“I don’t think she was coming home anyway. She has a daughter whose father is interested in helping raise her,” Nikolai said, causing Yuri to roll his eyes. Nikolai ruffled his hair. “I know you’d like to have her home, but even if she did, she likely wouldn’t be in Saint Petersburg with you, you know.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, I’m not home either, and I should be happy that Mama’s happy and enjoying her work and Boris.” At least Boris wasn’t a total asshole, and if he was going to screw Mama over somehow, he was sure taking a really strange way about it. Plus, he got a cute baby sister out of it, and Boris _had_ been exactly what Yuri needed over the last year or so.

 

Natasha ran eagerly to Yuri when they got to the apartment. “Yura!”

Yuri picked her up and hugged her. “Hi Natasha! Good to see you!” He turned so that Natasha could see Nikolai. “Remember Grandpa?”

Natasha shook her head, but held out her arms to Nikolai for a hug. Nikolai took her with a smile. “You’ve gotten so much bigger than the last time I saw you. Why must you grow so fast, Natashka?”

Irina smiled. “I keep trying to tell her to stay little, but you know how kids are. They want to get big so fast!”

“Is Boris here?” Yuri asked.

Irina shook her head. “He’s still at work – there was an emergency, he’ll be home as soon as he can.”

Stas rolled his eyes. “Yeah, figures. Hi. I’m Stas, this is my soulmate Salomat, I’m Boris’s son.”

Irina came forward and shook hands with Stas and Salomat. “It’s good to finally meet you in person. I didn’t realize you’d met your soulmate already, you’re eighteen?”

“I am. We knew before, but yes, I’m eighteen now.”

Irina raised an eyebrow. “You knew before? How?”

“Testing,” Salomat said quietly. When Irina still looked confused, she continued, “Stas and I met when we were both skating for the same coach, and when she had us do some pairs work just to see if we could do it, she noticed we had some really good chemistry. A lot of good pairs skating teams are soulmates, and my parents were happy to pay for Stas’s skating, if he wasn’t going to leave me when he found his soulmate.”

“Uncle Benedikt agreed to testing, if it would get my skating costs covered,” Stas added.

“That’s nice,” Irina said. “Does Boris know?”

Stas shrugged. “He knows Salomat and I are soulmates and skating partners. I’d be surprised if he remembers her name without prompting, but I’ve told him about her.”

 

The wedding was small and quiet. A friend of Boris’s who was a justice of the peace conducted the ceremony, with Nikolai serving as Irina’s man of honor and Lana serving as Boris’s best woman. Compared to other weddings Yuri had been to, this one barely seemed to be a real wedding. It was held at the apartment, and began when everyone was there.

“Everyone here? Okay. Irina, Boris, come here, hold hands. Lana, Nikolai, stand beside them.” Once everyone was in place, he continued. “Marriage is a sacred bond, one that unites two people and makes them one family. Boris, do you take Irina to be your wife, her son Yuri into your family, come what may?”

“I do.”

“Irina, do you take Boris to be your husband, his children Lana and Stas into your family, come what may?”

“I do.”

“Yuri, you have the rings?” Yuri held out the rings. Boris took one and put it on Irina’s hand, and Irina took the other to put on Boris. “All right. Kiss.” Yuri tried to hold back the gagging as Boris and Irina kissed. Even Viktor and Yuuri weren’t usually this bad. They finally did break apart. “I pronounce you husband and wife. Come sign the papers.”

“Wait, that’s it? That’s the whole wedding?” Yuri said.

Irina laughed and came to hug him after signing. “Not everyone’s Viktor. Boris and I are around so much drama and pageantry every day, we didn’t want to deal with it for a wedding. Besides, if we kept it to just immediate family, we didn’t have to go to Russia or ask everyone to come out here, and if we weren’t going to have a lot of guests, why bother to go to the trouble of a fancy wedding?”

Boris ruffled his hair. “I went through it once already. Sofiya and I did the whole collecting-the-bride, church ceremony, multi-day party thing.”

“And you never married Lev?”

“No. Looking back, that probably should have been a warning that he’d cut and run one day, but he kept saying we had all the time in the world, we knew we were soulmates, why rush it? Then you came, and the asshole left, and at least I didn’t have to figure out how to get out of that marriage after he abandoned us.”

“So are we doing any kind of party at all?”

“Of course! Dinner and cake,” Irina said.

“There’s one more reason we went for the simple and quick wedding,” Boris said. “One I think you’ll approve of, even.”

“Yeah? What’s that?”

Boris picked up Natasha. “The shorter it was, the less chance there was of Natasha getting bored or sleepy and needing to leave. She was here and part of it the whole time.”

"Oh, speaking of small children," Irina said. "While everyone's here and gathered, I have an announcement."

Lana squealed and ran to hug Irina. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks. For everyone else, I'm expecting another child next summer. Late July."

That led to a lot more hugging. Yuri was just glad to find out about it now instead of his birthday. "Are you going to call us this time?"

"Yes, Yuri, I will call this time. Or if not me, Boris will."


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Japan Nationals! Cute triplets.
> 
> Timeline: December 2012

Yuuri was cranky the whole flight to Sapporo, and Yakov left him alone to try to sleep and mope when he couldn’t. When he got off, Mari and Minako were there to meet him with hugs. Yuuko, Takeshi, Yuuko’s parents, and the triplets were at the hotel just waiting for Yuuri to arrive. “What stupid rumors are we going to hear this year?” Yuuko asked as she herded the girls over to Yuuri for hugs.

“I don’t know. Probably some ridiculous divorce rumor, that seems like a good bet, but I’ll be in Sochi by Viktor’s birthday unless there’s weather or Aeroflot issues.” Yuuri smiled down at the triplets. “Are you three skating yet?”

“No. Texting!” Axel held out Yuuko’s phone.

Yuuko took it back. “You’re not supposed to be!”

“Sorry!” Lutz said, and Loop hugged Yuuko’s leg. Axel just pouted.

Yuuko shook her head with a smile. “If you ever get a text that doesn’t make any sense from me or Takeshi, it’s because these three stole our phone. They can’t even read, but they’ve figured out how to send a text. And Viktor would be very proud of them – they’re little ninjas about getting on a phone!”

Yuuri giggled. “Booo, we’ll have to teach them to be pirates instead! Hear that, girls? Pirates are way cooler than ninjas.”

“Ninjas!” The triplets all struck ninja poses and stuck out their tongues.

Mari, Yuuko, and Takeshi laughed while Yuuri sighed. “Okay, okay. You’re at least cute ninjas. Just promise me that dragons are cool?”

“Dragons cool!” Lutz held out her arms like wings and pretended to breath fire. Axel and Loop joined forces as ninjas against her, and it devolved into the girls giggling and chasing each other around.

 

The most interesting part of the competition itself for Yuuri was keeping an eye on Togai. He wasn’t worried about Togai beating him, but he thought it was possible that Togai would medal. With Ichizo gone, there was a spot open for another Japanese skater to join Yuuri and Sachio. Among the seniors, Kai Masaki was the favorite – Yuuri vaguely remembered him from Juniors, where he’d placed third the year Yuuri took fifth – but Togai had shown great promise in the Junior Grand Prix and Junior Nationals.

Togai looked nervous, but his score was great for a junior. He landed a quad toe loop, and his 84 had him in third by the time Yuuri took the ice, behind Sachio and Masaki. Yuuri felt quite confident he could beat Sachio’s 88, and it showed in his skate. He nailed his quad toe loop, and while his skate wasn’t quite as good as it had been at the GPF, the fact that it was Nationals meant that he ended up close to his world record anyway. His 94 gave him a six point lead.

Yuuri stuck around to watch the ladies’ skate, where Yuuko had a wonderful day, much better than she had at the Finals. She was in first, with a three-point lead over Iona. Kei had also done well for a junior, making it into the top six.

The press was reasonably well-behaved, even, mostly asking about skating and what Yuuri thought of Togai’s excellent skate. “After all, you were the most recent skater to come out of Juniors and win a medal, do you think he can?”

“He can – he and Masaki are very close, and if he’s adapted his free skate for senior requirements, it wouldn’t surprise me.”

“If he does, do you believe he should be chosen for Four Continents and Worlds?”

“That’s for the JSF to decide, not me. If he’s chosen, I’ll support him the way I would any other teammate; if he’s not, I’ll support whoever is chosen instead.”

 

In the free skate, Togai did end up beating Masaki, just enough to be ahead of him and guarantee himself a medal. Sachio held the lead, despite a fall and a popped quad toe loop. As Yakov walked Yuuri out to the ice, he asked, “You okay?”

“I am. Togai is good, and maybe next year he’ll be someone I need to worry about, but this year I can beat him and Sachio both easily. Sachio fell, but he recovered well and he’s not injured, so I’m not worried about him. Worst thing that will affect me is missing Vitya.”

“Good. I’ll be leaving tonight so I can be there for the practice day, if everything goes right, take care of yourself in the exhibition and get out to Sochi when you can. You and Viktor are going to Hasetsu for New Year’s?”

“Unless something happens here or in Sochi that would mean we can’t.”

“All right. Go skate.”

Yuuri did as instructed, and almost right away, he messed up. He underrotated his quad flip, although he managed to get the double toe loop on the combo. After that there weren’t many more mistakes, and the quad salchow he’d fallen on at the Finals went just fine. When he finished, Yakov had a lot to talk about, but 187 was still a monster score and Yuuri was once again national champion.

Yuuko’s free skate also went well, and Hasetsu had two national champions representing them. Iona came in second, Sako third, and Kei sixth. This time, the press wasn’t as easygoing. “Togai is going to Four Continents, and Masaki to Worlds. Do you think that’s fair?”

“I think the JSF is responsible for that decision, not me, and they know what they’re doing. I think Togai and Masaki will both do their best to represent Japan well and I look forward to competing against them both.”

“Do you think the men’s competitors of Japan have a chance of establishing themselves as the women’s equals, or are you special and once you’re gone Japan will go back to fighting for respect?”

Yuuri stared blankly at the reporter. “Masato, among others, did just fine before I came up to seniors, and I feel confident that when I retire there will still be excellent skaters in Japan. What we have in the men’s division that the women don’t is the current Russian dominance.”

“Misha’s been a huge part of that for the last nearly fifteen years. When he retires, do you think Russia will be able to hold that place?”

“Assuming no one comes out of Juniors or makes a major step forward, Rykov will be stepping into Misha’s shoes. He’s shown that he can compete with the same standard of excellence that has been expected of Russian skaters for a very long time. Those of us who are his rinkmates will miss Misha greatly, but I’m not at all worried about Russia.”

“And you’ll be okay with that? You and Rykov have had some problems in the past.”

“I’ll miss my rinkmate, but I’ll be skating with my brother-in-law. We haven’t been the enemies we’re still cast as for almost two years now. I have no problem skating with Rykov.”


	28. Chapter 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Viktor is ridiculous and we all love him for it.

Viktor was happy to see Yakov and ran to hug him. “Yuuri did so well! I’m so proud of him! Thank you!”

Misha and Georgi looked at each other, trying not to roll their eyes. “Surely you’re not actually surprised that Yuuri won his Nationals? He’s been doing that for years now, and he just won the Grand Prix!” Georgi said.

“I’m not surprised, I’m just happy. He’s so good.”

Misha and Georgi exchanged amused glances. “Why is it that I’m the one everyone calls dramatic?” Georgi asked no one in particular. “I _am_ , I know, but… Viktor’s worse.”

“Yeah. Hey Yakov, when you first took me on, did you ever think I’d end up being your normal skater?” Misha said.

“Yes. I know the skaters I tend to end up with. Wherever he is, I know my old coach is laughing at me and calling this his revenge for all the hell I put him through.”

 

The practice day was long and boring, only made better when there was a knock on the hotel room door. Viktor got up and answered it, only to find himself nearly tackled. “I missed you so much!”

“Yuuri!” Viktor lit up. “You made it! I missed you so much but you’re here and you get to watch me skate tomorrow!”

“I think this is the first time you and I get to be together on your birthday! No, you were there the first time I went to senior Nationals, Russia had theirs in January that year. Still, it’s been forever. Not something to get used to, but I intend to enjoy it this year since I can.”

 

The short program was on Viktor’s birthday. Misha kicked things off, doing well and putting up a nice score of 86. Rykov finished ahead of him with an 87, putting them well ahead of everyone else, who finished in the 70s or below. Viktor and Georgi were the last two to skate.

Viktor started out well, getting his quad salchow-triple toe combo clean, and as he continued he put together some excellent elements. His final jump, a triple Lutz, was amazing and Viktor couldn’t remember ever having done it better. It was a beautiful skate, and Viktor was quite pleased with himself. Yakov couldn’t bring him down, although he tried. What did bring Viktor down was his score – 92. It was lower than at the Finals, despite what Viktor considered a better skate.

Georgi followed him and pulled out an 88, putting him in second for the day. Yuuri met up with Viktor as he came out of the changing room, not long before the press caught them. “Viktor, what do you think of Rykov beating Misha?”

“I think Rykov had a good skate. I’m not worried about Misha. He can make up one point tomorrow easily. If he doesn’t, and the officials decide to reward Rykov for medaling here, it will be interesting to see how he does at Europeans and Worlds.”

“You don’t think the RSF will give it to Misha?”

“If Rykov medals and Misha doesn’t? It would not surprise me at all. Depending on how close it is, they might split the third spot between them, but Rykov’s been through international competition before.”

“Is that what you want, then?”

“What I want is for Misha to come back and take silver or bronze tomorrow so that there’s no question that he deserves to go to Europeans and Worlds. If he doesn’t, then what I want doesn’t matter, the RSF will make the decision and I’ll support whoever ends up being my teammate.”

“Not gold?”

Viktor looked down as Yuuri started laughing into his chest. It gave him a huge smile. “The gold medal is mine, silly!”

 

Rykov found the whole thing hilarious. “Okay. I get why they still love the angle of you guys hate me, and the three rinkmates ruling Russian men’s singles is a great story, but they make it sound like I’m some… wizard or ninja or something using nefarious means to claim something I have no right to.”

“Just imagine if it were me!” Everyone looked curiously at Viktor. “If I were the one having a down year and you were threatening to beat me, they’d be spinning all kinds of tales of how you faked the soulbond with my sister to get me to lower my guard and then pounced.”

Rykov nearly hurt himself, bent double with laughter. “You’re right. Wow.”

“Come on, I know we all have to skate tomorrow, but it’s my birthday. We’re going to celebrate.”

 

Since the others had to skate, only Yuuri, Sasha, and Emiliya really celebrated all that much. With four responsible adults and Viktor to help keep things in check, Yuuri let go, getting completely drunk and stupid. When he woke up in the morning, Yuuri very much regretted that. Viktor wasn’t there, only a note – “Yakov is making me go to practice. I’ll be back for cuddles and naps as soon as I can, and then we can talk about your idea.” Yuuri did not want to know what his idea was. He just wanted to crawl into a nice dark cave and sleep.

Instead, he made himself get up and take a shower. He had just stepped out, reaching for a towel, when he felt arms wrap around him. “Vitya?”

“Of course!” Viktor kissed Yuuri’s neck. “How are you feeling?”

“My head hurts and I have this inescapable feeling that I do not want to know what I did last night. You know you’re getting your clothes all wet, right?”

“So I am. Oh well, I suppose I should get out of them…”

Yuuri gave up on the towel and turned to face his husband. “Viktor, you have to skate in a few hours!”

“Yes, and? You’re hung over, I like napping before competitions, naked cuddles are the best kind, so let’s go get back in bed and enjoy some.”

Yuuri let Viktor lead him to the bed and pull him into it. Once they were comfortably cuddling, Yuuri bit the bullet. “What was this idea Drunk Me had that you wanted to talk about?”

“You suggested that next summer, instead of going somewhere like Egypt or Peru for vacation, we should just not show up at the rink and spend the week only leaving bed to take Makkachin and Vicchan for walks or for groceries. If that’s really what you want, we can do it, but are you sure you wouldn’t get bored or restless or start worrying about getting out of shape?”

Yuuri buried his face in the pillow to muffle the embarrassed laughter. “A day or two, I think we could do, but an entire week? No, I think we should have a normal vacation. Besides, I picked last year, it’s your turn to choose this year. Drunk Me is an idiot.”

“Yes, but he’s very fun and lovable and I would miss him terribly if I never got to see him. We just won’t let him make big decisions. Okay?”

 

Viktor was nice and relaxed when he got back to the rink for competition. “Happy day after birthday?” Misha teased.

“Very happy. I have the best husband in the world.”

“Oh no. Don’t let Yuuri hear you say that!”

“Oh? Why not?” Viktor asked.

Somehow, Misha kept a straight face. “Because he hates it when anyone says something that implies that HIS husband isn’t the best in the world. I couldn’t bear it if you two started fighting over that.”

Georgi groaned. “Don’t encourage him! Viktor might melt and our skates would get all sticky from the sap!”

Misha had a great skate, better than he’d managed all year, getting into the mid 170s. Rykov did his best, but his 172 wasn’t quite enough to pass Misha, and his disappointment was obvious as he left the Kiss and Cry. Georgi held on to second with a 177, leaving plenty of room for Viktor to win this decisively.

Viktor went out with high energy, setting the tone with a good quad flip-triple toe combo. He didn’t have quite the technique he’d had in Barcelona, but his performance was better, and he got above 187. He was quite pleased with himself and his gold medal.

Of course the press was ridiculous about Misha and Rykov being so close. "Misha won, but do you think the RSF might give Rykov one of the events anyway?"

"I'm not an RSF member, so I can't tell you what they're thinking. There's always that possibility. They could decide to give me, Misha, and Yulian Worlds, while Georgi, Rykov, and Vadim take Europeans. I will support my teammates, whoever they are, and my husband. Oh, and speaking of Georgi, I'd like to wish him a happy birthday! And tonight, we can all celebrate!"


	29. Chapter 29

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New year, good time to look ahead, right?
> 
> Timeline: end of 2012

The assignments weren’t that much of a surprise, not after the way the reporters had been harping on the possibilities. Rykov was assigned to Europeans; Misha to Worlds. Misha wasn’t too put out by it. “I’ve been off this year, Rykov’s fine, and it’s not like he’s still the assclown he was three years ago.”

“How are you feeling about retirement? Does this affect anything for you?” Georgi asked.

“I am deeply offended that you think I’d let Rykov have any control at all over whether I retired.” Misha stuck out his tongue at Georgi. “No, it doesn’t, right now I’m thinking I’m going to go ahead and go another year so I can try for one last run at the Olympics. We’ll see what happens at Worlds.”

“It’s not Rykov specifically, it’s you’re no longer at the top the way you’ve been,” Georgi said. “I’m just having trouble seeing you accepting not being the best or second-best in Russia anymore.”

“No one lasts forever!” Misha said. “You and Viktor have done great, and I don’t feel like I’ve really lost anything, having you two take the lead. I don’t care about going out on top. It would be nice, sure, but if I end up twelfth at Russian Nationals and not even close to the Grand Prix Finals next year, but I had fun and was still happier skating than not? I’m not going to regret staying to skate. And if I feel like I’d be happier not skating, I can retire mid-season.”

“Fair enough!” Viktor hugged Misha. “We’re going to miss you, whenever you do leave us.”

 

Yuuri and Viktor spent most of the flight to Fukuoka sleeping on each other and studying. Once again, finals were coming up soon after they got back to Saint Petersburg, and Yuuri’s anxiety was starting to mess with him over it. “Vitya?”

Viktor set his book aside. “Yes?”

“How the fuck are we going to do university next year with Olympics?”

“With brains, patience, long flights, and lots of hugs. I don’t know. We’ll have to look at dates and travel schedules and figure out how to handle things, but I’m willing to bet our professors will work with us." Viktor winked at Yuuri. "After all, the Russian government is quite insistent on their athletes being given what they need to compete!”

“That helps you, but I’m not a Russian athlete.”

“Yes, but I need you in order to compete!” Viktor pulled Yuuri in to kiss the top of his head. “Yakov will have your back, I promise you.”

“Vitya, you’re so ridiculous… but you’re so sweet, too. I guess the worst that happens is they kick me out and I have to become a trophy husband or go work for my parents when I retire. My mother wouldn’t even be ashamed of me for not finishing school.”

“I’m trying to imagine your mother ashamed of you or Mari for any reason, and the only thing I can come up with is if Kokei had showed up after Mari kicked him out and she took him back and let him treat her like dirt again. It helps that she has amazing children, but I can’t imagine her being anything less than very proud of you two.”

“Mom likes to say she’s got five children now and they are all amazing.”

“Five?”

“Mari, me, you, Yuuko, and Takeshi. All of us have found something we love doing and become productive members of society and are happy with our soulmates – or happy without one, in Mari’s case. She really doesn’t see the difference between her three Olympians and her children who are essential to their family businesses, which makes me happy. Mari and Takeshi are amazing, and Yuuko and I wouldn't have made it without their support.”

 

Hanging out in Hasetsu was as relaxing as always. On New Year’s Eve, Mari found Viktor and Yuuri. “Hey, guys. You two thought any more about when you’re gonna want kids?”

“Haven’t really talked about it, but I’m thinking at least another two and a half years. Wait till I’m out of school,” Yuuri said. “Vitya?”

“That sounds reasonable. At the very minimum, not until after we’ve survived the Sochi Olympics. Why do you ask?”

“Because I can’t see you guys asking Sasha or Yuuko to put their careers on hold to surrogate for you, so if you were wanting one in the next couple years, I’m the obvious choice.”

“Are you and Bin still talking about having a kid together, then?” Viktor asked.

“Yeah. Now that I know you guys aren’t looking for one in the next couple years, I’m going to do it. Mom and Dad think it’s a great idea, and his parents are all for it, of course.”

“So… when?”

“Hope is to have the kid born by the end of the year. If we don’t even have one started by the end of April we’ll take a break so that there’s no chance of the kid being born during the Olympics, but Bin says he’s willing to miss whatever else he has to for the kid.”

“That’s good, I guess.” Yuuri tried not to think too hard about the implications of them not knowing exactly how long this would take. “What about your school, though? You’re in your last year of university.”

“I can study and be pregnant, and final exams are going to be around the same time as the Olympics. Worst thing that happens is I end up needing to take one semester off. It’s not like I’m the only person to ever do university and pregnancy at the same time.”

“Sounds good, then.” Yuuri hugged Mari. “I hope everything goes well for the three of you… or however many it ends up being, I guess, if you end up having twins or triplets or whatever.”

Mari made a face at that, so Viktor changed the subject a little. “Once the baby’s born, how involved are you going to be? Should Yuuri and I be planning on a nephew or a friend’s child?”

“What’s the difference?” Mari teased. “As much as I hear about Nika, and then Yuuko’s girls…”

“Yuuko’s girls _are_ our nieces, unless you want to be the one to tell Mom they’re not her grandchildren!” Yuuri said, causing Mari to snort. “But Kristýna’s more like what Bin’s kid would be to us, if it weren’t you being the mom.”

“At least for the first bit, more like a niece. Hard to nurse her if she’s in China and I’m in Japan. The plan is for me to keep her for the first six months, and then depending on competition schedules and stuff Bin will take her to China and I’ll be like an aunt or something." Mari thought for a minute. "So maybe like Natasha? Family of your family, but not really your family.”

“Sounds good to me. Good luck with everything!” Viktor said.


	30. Chapter 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuri competes in the Mentor Nestle Nesquick Torun Cup.
> 
> Timeline: January 2013

Yuri was the first to skate in the new year, going to a competition in Poland. There were several boys there, at least, but only one Yuri knew even a little. There were also fangirls, and Yuri spotted Lev in the audience and pointed him out to Yakov. “When’s he gonna give up?”

“Call me a skeptic, but I don’t think he is. Don’t worry about him, just focus on yourself here. No triples unless I tell you otherwise after watching practice.” Yuri nodded and headed out to skate. Stupid rules anyway. If he were allowed to, he could be winning in Juniors now. Better prize money, better exposure and name recognition drawing in better sponsorships. Of course, if he were competing in juniors, he’d probably be chafing against restrictions against doing quads. He wasn’t going to try one yet, but he thought he could do it.

After practice, Yuri went back to his room and texted Otabek. To his surprise, Otabek called him back. “Hi.”

“What’s up? You never call me when I’m at a competition.”

“I know, and I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be calling you now. I’m wound up and I thought it would be easier than texting.”

“No, it’s fine, I’m glad you called. I’m just curious why.”

“It’s official. My current coach and my parents signed off on me going to America in June. Finish the school year in Moscow and then head to Colorado for a training camp and then Detroit.”

“That’s great!” Yuri wrinkled his brow, trying to think why Detroit sounded so familiar. “Wait, Detroit? Are you gonna skate for Celestino Cialdini?”

“Not directly. I’ll mostly be working with an associate of his. If it’s a good fit, the goal is for me to be directly with Celestino when I move up to seniors. If not, well, we’ll figure that out when we get there.”

“Yeah. Phichit’s there, so you’re not gonna be out there all by yourself.”

“I barely know Phichit.”

“Not yet, but he knows who you are and you know he’s gonna look out for you because you’re my friend. Paul, too, maybe.”

“I guess. There is one annoying thing about it.”

“What… oh, right. Fucking JJ is talking about staying there another year.”

“He’s staying another year, and he’ll be working with the same associate I am. Celestino’s got three of his juniors who are likely to move up to seniors, and he wants to focus on them and his current seniors.”

“That fucking sucks.”

“Could be worse. I’d rather put up with annoying rinkmates than have to go back home and give up.”

“Yeah, that’s true. But you’ll still be there in April if I come out to visit Grandpa?”

“Yeah. Hope you’ll get to come.”

 

Yuri was sixth out of the seven boys competing, and he barely paid attention to the scores while he warmed up. Instead, he took a leaf from Otabek’s book and listened to music the whole time. He barely glanced at the scoreboard when he headed out to take the ice – only one score over twenty, a Lithuanian skater. Kazimir was skating after Yuri and would probably take second.

Yuri was still struggling to connect to this program, but technically, he was blowing the other skaters here out of the water even without triples. His double axel was great, and all his jumps were very good. The performance, though… he was not looking forward to Yakov’s commentary. It was as bad as he’d expected, and Yuri took it. He deserved it. His 34, at least, was plenty respectable for a program without triples. Way more than enough to hold the lead over Kazimir and Zenonas.

After skating, he was swarmed by fans looking for autographs and selfies. Yakov rolled his eyes a little but encouraged Yuri to play nice with his fans. Minions of Lev or not, it was good practice. Yuri sucked it up and smiled and shook hands and took pictures and tolerated hugs.

Once they were finally free, Yakov asked, “Do you want to stay and watch the older skaters, or go out somewhere, or just go back to the hotel?”

“Hotel. I don’t know anyone here and I guess the zoo might be interesting, they’ve got some caracals, but if I stay in my room I don’t get bugged by Angels or Lev.”

“All right. Don’t forget to eat. Call me if you want to go out somewhere.”

 

Competition would run all day on the 11th, and the boys were the first ones up, starting at 8:00 am. Yuri was not happy about that; nor was Yakov. “When we’re done here, can I go back to the hotel and take a nap?” Yuri grumbled as he warmed up.

“I don’t see why not, unless I’m taking you home because you didn’t medal.” Yuri scoffed. Fat chance. He had the lead and he didn’t think Kazimir or Zenonas were going to make any kind of run at him, let alone anyone below them. “Or you hurt yourself and I have to take you to medical. They’ll probably keep you awake.” That one, Yuri could believe was plausible.

Yuri paid a little better attention to the scoreboard today, but not much. Lots of scores in the high 30s and low 40s. By the time Yuri walked out to the ice, he was bored. He’d only scored below 50 once in his life, and Kazimir had just put up a 46. He could do this in his sleep. Maybe not literally, but he didn’t have to push himself at all.

On the other hand, he liked this program a lot better, and why get lazy or sloppy and make Yakov’s job easy on him? He delivered a clean skate, full of strong jumps and fancy spins, and although Yakov had a lot to talk to him about, he wasn’t angry about it like he’d been the day before, trying to get Yuri to find a way to improve his performance. His score was just shy of 58, too, which gave him a huge victory and a shiny gold medal.

Once again, as he tried to leave, he was intercepted by a horde of fangirls – and this time, a couple fanboys. A lot of them had lions for him to sign, which he did happily, even posing for pictures cuddling the lions. Things got a little weird when one of the girls started sobbing when she hugged him, and Yuri looked helplessly at Yakov. He had no idea what to do with a crying person. Yakov gently pulled her away and delivered her and her newly-autographed lion to her parents.


	31. Chapter 31

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Off to Zagreb for Europeans! Viktor finds a way to get a laugh at the press, which Yuuri plays along with.
> 
> Timeline: January 2013

Finals week sucked out Yuuri’s soul. Yakov took it easy on him in practice to let him study, which helped; Viktor didn’t get that because he had Europeans right after finals. Viktor was also less stressed about the exams, and did everything in his power to make Yuuri relax and eat properly and remember to get a good night’s sleep. Thankfully, that was quite a bit.

The day grades were posted, Yuuri finally let himself relax. Another semester survived, with excellent marks and nothing to worry about when it came to moving on to the next semester. This one would be easier, with only three competitions to work around - Four Continents, Worlds, and the World Team Trophy, assuming Japan made it. There was no reason why they shouldn't. Worlds, though… this was a high-pressure year. This determined slots for the Olympics. If Yuuri messed up, Sachio might not do well enough to overcome it.

But first: a couple weeks off from school, and Europeans! The travel to Zagreb wasn’t bad at all. Yuri was competing as well, at Skate Helena in Belgrade. Lilia was going with him, so that Yakov could be there with Viktor and Georgi. Sasha was coming with Rykov, and that meant celebrating her 21st birthday, naturally.

Cassie, a Canadian ladies’ skater who was a friend of Sara and Michele’s, also had a birthday around the time, so they celebrated both with one big party. Cassie was turning seventeen, which provided an excuse not to go too nuts even though only ice dance and pairs competed the next day. They took over the pool area of the hotel – very few people were crazy enough to go swimming, mostly Russians, but it was a good place for a crowd to hang out.

 

Viktor and Yuuri went with Chris and Kamil to watch the ice dancing. The French teams did extremely well, as did Jolanda and Masumi, who finished the day in second. Anya and Christov were in fourth, with Olesya and Anatolij fifth.

Afterwards, with time to explore Zagreb, Viktor had somewhere specific he wanted to go. “I want to go specifically to mess with the press, so if we go, I’m going to get a local Hamster to leak it. Phichit's gotten me contact information.”

“I’m scared.” Yuuri took Viktor’s hand. “Where are we going?”

“The Museum of Broken Relationships. It’s a museum dedicated to things related to breakups. Can’t you just see what the press would make of us going there?”

Yuuri could barely control the laughter. “Get the message to the Hamster. I want to see this. Even without the press, the museum sounds kind of fascinating in a weird way.”

After that museum, they went out to the Museum of Illusions. By the time they were done there, the first Viktuuri divorce stories of the year had hit the internet. “Apparently we need inspiration for an appropriately dramatic way to break up, so we’re looking for ideas,” Yuuri said through snickers. “Viktor, if you ever do break up with me, do you really think you’ll need help to make it dramatic and exciting?”

“Probably.” Yuuri stared at him in shock, so Viktor hugged Yuuri and explained, “If I’m ever stupid enough to break up with you, clearly I have been invaded by a pod person or lost my mind, so it’s hard to say whether I’d do it the way I normally would or not!”

 

The men’s short program was on the 24th. Lukas was in the first group, meaning they had friends involved right away. Lukas had a great program, which put him in the lead after his group. It held up for the first few skaters of the second group, but Kamil and Christophe had both drawn into that group, and both put up scores in the low 80s to take the lead. Rykov was the first skater in the third group, and he got close to 80, while Georgi scored an 88 to take the lead away from Kamil. Michele finished out the group. The only skater in the fourth group to get anywhere near the top was Kaleb, who got just above Rykov.

Viktor kicked off the last group. He started huge, with his quad salchow-triple toe loop combo, and he had another great run. Not as great as he’d had in America, but still, good. Everything clean, everything big, Yakov didn’t have just a whole lot to say that wasn’t very picky. Neither Viktor nor Yakov were particularly happy with his score – he didn’t quite break 90 – but it was at least good enough for first over Georgi. Only one other skater in his group finished in the top 12, as Etienne squeaked past Roar for tenth.

“Viktor! Any comment about your impending divorce?”

“Yuuri found it quite insulting that my own powers of drama were in question. Personally, I think it’s funny. Yuuri and I have been divorced so many times by the media, if we ever do decide to divorce – I can’t imagine why we would, Yuuri is the best thing to ever happen to me, but never say never, right? If something should happen, no one would believe it.”

“Something the two of you have contributed to yourselves, you know, with your alleged breakup before you got engaged.”

“Yes, I know. Thankfully, the thought of me and Yuuri separating is so ridiculous I don’t expect we’ll ever need to make anyone believe us.”

“Misha’s not here. Is that weird for you?”

“A little, yes. It’s happened before – three years ago, he didn’t come so that Russia could spread the competitions out among more skaters. Thankfully, it doesn’t mean I’m left without good teammates or friends.”

“Georgi, obviously, but you said teammates. Did you mean to include Rykov as a good teammate?”

The eyeroll was easily withheld, but it was tempting. One of these days they'd stop getting this crap, right? “Rykov is my brother-in-law, or as good as. Family makes for great teammates, wouldn’t you think?”

“Do you include him as a friend?”

“Good question! He’s family, so I never really thought about it. Sasha certainly is, and since I mostly see him with her or on the ice... I suppose close enough?”


	32. Chapter 32

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's baaaaaaaaack???
> 
> Timeline: end of January 2013

One reason that Yuri was looking forward to juniors so much was unlimited triples. Another was that juniors rarely got stuck with 8 am competitions. It wasn’t that Yuri didn’t get up early, it’s just that he was somewhat slow to get up to competition mood. Early practice, fine. Competition, no.

Richard and Ivo were the only other competitors, which meant there was no chance of getting to push himself. Yuri was going to focus on trying to perform better. After all, he still had two competitions where he might actually need the performance points. Maybe.

The first two days of competition he didn’t even need to be there for. He’d seen enough of Belgrade the year before with Mama and Boris and Natasha, so he mostly stuck in his room aside from practice. He had his DS, his phone, and schoolwork to keep him busy, he was out of trouble, Lev and the Angels couldn’t get to him unless they wanted to look like stalkers, so he really didn’t understand why Lilia objected to him staying in his room all day.

To appease her, Yuri asked if he, Ivo, and Richard could go play laser tag. Lilia agreed to that, and invited some of the girls’ novices to come as well. Which was fine, in theory, but one of the girls was a fucking Angel and spent half the trip squealing over getting to hang out with Yuri. It soured the trip for him. It did get better, though. As they were leaving, they ran into Lev. Lilia got a strange look on her face, like Potya had missed the litter box and Lilia had stepped in it, and put a hand on Yuri’s shoulder to guide him away without saying a word. Not that Yuri put up any resistance to leaving. Lev started to follow them, but one glance over her shoulder from Lilia, and Lev decided to give up and pretend like he’d come to play laser tag. Once he was out of sight, Yuri hugged Lilia. “Can you come with me everywhere? That was _awesome_.”

Lilia smirked. “I’ve been looking forward to seeing him again. I thought he was avoiding me, but one would think he’d know Europeans is happening and Yakov would be there instead of here. Don’t be afraid to go out, but if you want to stay in now, I’ll leave you to it.”

 

Yuri chose to stay in – Angel avoidance. His short program started at 8 am, and he was skating first that day. With Yakov not here, it was tempting to do a triple toe loop instead of the double in his combo, but Lilia probably knew he wasn’t supposed to be doing any triples at this competition. His performance was a little better, anyway, and his spins and step sequence were all excellent. He wasn’t worried at all about his 35 not holding up. Richard had improved, now he could land a double axel, but he still didn’t beat 30, and Ivo didn’t even come close.

That afternoon, he was invited to an Angels meeting. Yuri didn’t want to go, but Lilia asked the purpose of the meeting – Yuri’s Angels were meeting with a merchandise company representative to create official merchandise, and they wanted to meet the skater they would be selling. Put that way, how could Yuri say no?

When he and Lilia got to the meeting, he found the one way he’d even consider saying no. They tried to make Lilia leave. “No fucking way,” Yuri snapped before Lilia could say a word. "I’m eleven, you morons, someone has to sign with me or for me or whatever and Lilia’s one of four people who can. The other three are in a different country.”

“Lev can sign for you,” the Angel said. “He’s your father, right?”

Yuri’s blood went cold, and he turned to Lilia with fear in his eyes. Lilia put a hand on his shoulder. “Lev Melikov has no legal authority to make decisions for Yuri. Any contract he puts his name to as Yuri’s guardian is invalid and unenforceable – but I would love to see someone try to enforce it through Yakov Feltsman.”

Yuri closed his eyes and took a deep breath of relief. Thank god. He wouldn’t be surprised if Lilia whipped out an official copy of the court decision right there. She didn’t, but Yuri would have believed it.

The Angels grudgingly allowed Lilia into the meeting, and only a slight narrowing of Lev’s eyes indicated what he thought of it. “Yuri, will you let me handle this?” Lilia whispered while everyone was distracted. Yuri nodded. Lilia would know what to do, and maybe they could make a point to the Angels not to try to bypass Yuri’s coaches again.

The more Lilia heard from the representative, though, the darker her expression became. Yuri didn’t understand. Sure, the deal sounded kind of crappy, but it was still a deal that got him out there and would bring in money. All he had to do was a photoshoot and a little voice recording so they could make talking dolls that said things like “Hello” or “Going for gold” or whatever. Whatever they did with that, he got a percent of the sales. It sounded good to him, but Lilia shook her head. “You’ve neglected to mention the approval process. When will we see the merchandise?”

“We’ll send samples to Yuri for autographs before anything hits the market.”

“I thought as much. Come, Yuri, we’re leaving.”

“But…”

“Yuri.”

Yuri got to his feet. He took the card the representative slid to him as Lilia walked out and ran after her. “What was that?”

“ _Never_ sign a contract involving merchandise that doesn’t include you getting approval power over anything created. As proposed, they could have done anything they wanted with the pictures from the photoshoot.”

“Posters, dolls, T-shirts… so what?”

“Do you really want Angels buying underwear with your face on it?”

That stopped Yuri short. “Why would anyone?”

“You’ve noticed your fans can be a bit obsessive. Don’t underestimate them.”

Yuri reached into his pocket and felt the card. He should probably give it to Lilia, or throw it away. He didn’t.

 

The next morning, Yuri had to compete again. This time, he was still distracted from the day before. He’d buried the card in the bottom of his bag, and tried not to think about it, but he couldn’t quite shut it out of his mind. It showed on the ice, too, especially when Yuri fell on a double flip. He could do triples. He shouldn’t be falling on a simple double. It wasn’t the worst program he’d done this year, but it was the first time he’d fallen like that. Thankfully, Yakov wasn’t here to shred him over it – not that it would stop him from doing it over the phone, but he’d be in a little better place by then. He still won easily, although Richard broke 50 as well for a total of nearly 80.


	33. Chapter 33

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back to Europeans, where the drama is all of the competitive or attempted manufactured kind.
> 
> Timeline: end of January 2013

Meanwhile, in Zagreb, the ladies’ short program had gone well. Saila had the lead, followed by Emily and Sara. Raisa and Alena were fifth and sixth. In the ice dance, Jolanda and Masumi got silver behind the French newcomers Solène and Jean-Augustin, while Anya and Christov were able to take over bronze.

Men were up first on the final day of competition. When the final group took the ice for warmups, Michele was in the lead, with Lukas right behind him. Rykov kicked things off well, taking the lead easily, which held up through Kaleb’s skate. Christophe, with the help of his quad Lutz, got over 180, while Georgi stumbled out of a quad Salchow and couldn’t catch up to Christophe. He was still going to medal, as he beat Kamil, but Christophe was guaranteed at least silver.

Viktor started out well as always, landing his quad flip-triple toe combo cleanly, and following it with a good triple axel. His quad Lutz went well, but he struggled with the toe loop. He stumbled again on his final jump, a triple Lutz, but it was still a solid program with no major mistakes. He’d been flirting with a world record since adding the third quad, and he was hoping he’d get it this time.

He didn’t, but 187 was still good for a clear win. Chris and Georgi were wonderful as usual to share a podium with. Chris, in particular, was very excited to be up there. “You’d think you never won a medal here, Chris,” Viktor teased.

“I missed out last year, after three straight bronzes,” Chris said. “It’s good to be on this side of the podium!”

“One of these years, you should check out the view from the top of the podium. I think you’ll love it!” Viktor winked at him. “Of course, you’ll have to get through me to get here, think you can do it?”

“Just you watch. Got any big plans for next year?”

“No, I’m still waiting to finish up this year before I think about that. It’s the Olympics… I may just relax and work on polishing the skills I currently have. Sure, there’s still the quad loop to ratify, but five quads in one program is a lot. Four’s tiring enough.”

“Think Yuuri’s going to go for the Lutz?”

“No idea. Are you going for the flip?”

“Probably not. Wouldn’t want to start flutzing my quads.”

“Hey, I do both without flutzing! You could too!”

“I could, or I could start working on the loop, or I could say three’s good enough and focus on the artistry for the season. Probably won’t decide until after Worlds.”

“Exactly. We’ve still got Worlds left, and Russia’s probably going to the World Team Trophy, so why think about next season already? Yes, Olympics, but that’s what April’s for.”

 

Yuuri was Viktor's first stop after pictures were over, to get kisses for himself and his shiny new medal. The press was eager to speak to Viktor as always. “You and Chris were talking a lot on the podium. What were you talking about?”

“Congratulations, future plans, teasing, normal best friend things?” Viktor tried to figure out what they were possibly fishing for here.

“Is there a reason he didn’t kiss your medal?”

Viktor grinned. Oh. “Not that I know of, but you’d have to ask him. It’s quite possible he was just waiting until we got out here and done with press. It could be he just wanted to give you guys something to speculate about, I don’t know!”

“So what are your future plans?”

“Well, the new semester starts at the first of February, and then it’s off to Four Continents with Yuuri, and Worlds, and then we’ll be thinking further into the future than that. No sense in looking too far ahead, right?”

“So no big changes on the horizon?”

“Not that I’m aware of. I’m sure there will be the usual round of retirement announcements and planning for next season and preparing to compete for the Olympics, but really, no big changes.”

“If Misha retires, how much will it affect you?”

“I’ll miss him, of course. Unless Misha leaves Saint Petersburg, though, I don’t expect we’ll never see him, so the biggest difference would be who’s around during practice times. Yakov might take on another skater, I don’t know, but if he plans to he hasn’t said anything to me about it.”

“Rykov?”

“No, I don’t think so. It’s possible, but Yakov usually prefers to take skaters when they’re younger. Even taking Georgi at seventeen was unusual. I don’t think Rykov would want to leave Moscow anyway, not with Sasha down there.”

 

Once free, Viktor headed back in to watch the ladies’ free skate. He was stopped several times by other skaters wanting to kiss his medal – Kamil was first, but also Lukas, Kaleb, Masumi, and Chris. Yuuri was amused by the procession, especially Chris. “I was just letting Yuuri kiss it first,” Chris said before Viktor could even bring up the question he got. “Some idiot reporter decided this means that either Masumi’s declared you off-limits or you and I are fighting.”

"I got it too. Masumi hasn’t declared me off-limits?”

“No, why would he? If you ever do change your mind about things and decide you want to mess around, then as long as Yuuri’s on board too, he’d have no problem with it. It’s just unthinkable because neither of us could imagine you or Yuuri deciding you wanted that.” Chris picked up the medal to kiss, and then hugged Viktor.

In the final group, Raisa surprised everyone – herself included – by pulling out a brilliant skate. When Rachelle didn’t catch her, Viktor started hoping – there were still three more skaters, but Saila had always fizzled in the free skate. Raisa just might be able to get on the podium. Michele went a little nuts when Sara beat Raisa to guarantee herself a medal, and even Emily passing her couldn’t dim his joy. Saila didn’t just fizzle, she had a fall that dropped her all the way from first to fifth. Michele was practically bouncing as Sara claimed her silver medal.


	34. Chapter 34

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yakov reins in a potentially wayward skater. Mila competes in Junior Nationals, and Viktor and Yuuri head out to Four Continents.
> 
> Timeline: beginning of February 2013

Yakov was barely home for one day before he had to leave with Mila to Junior Nationals, so Yuri was very surprised when Yakov started shouting for Yuri to get off the ice and come talk to him. This had to be important, but Yuri couldn’t think what it would be.

“Lilia told me about the meeting,” Yakov said as soon as he’d closed the office door. Yuri rolled his eyes. “I’ve dealt with those people before. You do not want any part of that, Yuri. I’d never heard of them when they first came to me about sponsoring Viktor, but there were enough red flags in the pitch that I took the time to investigate. Lilia said she talked to you about the creepy potential of what they were wanting, but I think you might be more influenced by what I learned when I was investigating.”

Yuri leaned back in his chair, arms folded on the knees he'd drawn up to his chest. “Yeah? What’s that?”

“They’re scammers. They’d do good things at the beginning to establish trust, and then just enough to keep you believing they were working for you. And then, you’d find out about other merchandise they were producing based on you by running across it when someone asked you to sign it, or something like that. Meanwhile, since they didn’t have to get your approval, you’d have no way to know about it until then, meaning that as long as you never saw it, they wouldn’t have to pay you your cut. With Viktor, he wasn’t interested just because of the red flags, but I investigated anyway, to be prepared for the future. For skaters like you, who do need the sponsorship money.”

Yuri scoffed. Viktor didn’t need the money, obviously. Sure, with this company, he might not be getting all the money he should, but it would still be more than what he was getting now. Other than photoshoots, they weren’t asking him to do anything, he wasn’t wearing their clothes or drinking their water or anything. Nothing that would interfere with getting other sponsorships.

Yakov's brows drew together at Yuri's indifference. “Yuri, get this in your head and make it stick there – not all sponsors are worth it. I know it bothers you, how much Viktor’s doing for you, but if you ask for an audit, Viktor will happily get you in to talk to his accountant to show you the money he’s spent on you and the money he’s earned from the work you’ve done for him. You should always be able to request an audit.”

“As long as they’re paying me, why should I care?”

“If the merchandise market gets too flooded, legitimate sponsors might be less interested. You’re free to choose what companies you work with – if they’re legitimate. If you’re oversaturating the market so you get less return for each thing, then one where you’re not getting what you’re owed is a big deal. It limits what you can earn.” That gave Yuri pause. Sure, there were Angels, and his fanclub was certain to grow – but there were still limits to the market. “There’s also this. When you’re an adult, you can handle your own affairs, but until then – if I find out you’ve signed with a sponsor not approved by me, Lilia, or Irishka, you will not be skating for me. Am I clear?”

“What about Grandpa?”

“Kolya doesn’t know the industry. I never had a problem with him signing off on something bad for Irishka, he always deferred to me and Lilia, but you know you have that way around me. Kolya has the right to sign contracts for you, but I have the right to kick you out if I find you went behind my back to sign with someone who’s looking to exploit you. Understood?”

Yuri scowled, but he really couldn't argue. And, well... having Yakov was worth whatever sponsorship Yuri lost because of Yakov being stubborn. He more than made up for it by making Yuri the best and bringing in good sponsorships. “Yeah. Got it.”

“Good. Now go skate.”

 

The new semester started on February 1st. Yuuri’s program was much the same – language classes, literature, and this semester there was a logic class that seemed like it would be interesting. Viktor’s program had a lot of choices for things to study, and he had a term paper to write this year. Something good to do on long flights.

It was quite fun getting into things, even though they were going to miss part of the first week of classes. Both Viktor and Yuuri talked to their professors – they were not happy, but they did understand that Viktor and Yuuri got special treatment.

Mila and Yakov got home on the fourth, Mila with a shiny gold medal from Junior Nationals. “Are you going to move up next year, then?” Viktor said. “So Yakov will start letting you work toward quads?”

“No. I’m staying one more year, hopefully move up when I’m sixteen.” Mila made a face. “My body’s still doing weird things and I’d like to wait until that settles down before I end up in seniors. You boys are lucky.”

“I remember when Yuuko was your age, she basically had to relearn everything.” Yuuri hugged Mila. “It sucked so bad for her. I hope you’re almost done.”

 

Yakov, Viktor, and Yuuri left for Osaka on the 6th. Viktor was bouncing a lot. “I miss so many competitions in Japan! It’s nice to be able to go. A shame we can’t go to Hasetsu, but we should get to see most of them, right?”

“Well, Yuuko for certain, she’s skating.” Viktor stuck his tongue out at Yuuri, but Yuuri just snuggled in. “Minako’s coming, Takeshi and the girls are likely, and I know Mari’s planning on being there at least for the free skate. Mom and Dad won’t be there, but that’s not really a surprise.”

“I hope they’ll be able to come next year, the Olympics in Sochi. That will be amazing, won’t it?”

“Yeah… they’ve promised to try, but you know how they are about the inn. Yes, there are people who could run it for them for a few days, but they don’t like being away. I don’t know if either of us will still be skating by then, but Pyeongchang would be easier for them to come to.”

“You should be! You’ll be, 25? I think? The age I’ll be next year in Sochi?”

“Yeah, I know, there’s no reason for me to expect to be out by then, but…”

“If I’m not skating, I fully expect to see you and Yurio take silver and gold. Georgi and Chris, if they’re still skating, are acceptable substitutes or bronze medalists.”

“Sounds good to me. Except for one thing.” Yuuri pouted at Viktor. “Don’t forget Phichit!”


	35. Chapter 35

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Four Continents begins!
> 
> Timeline: 6-8 February 2013

Yuuko and Takeshi were very happy to see Yuuri and Viktor. The triplets were even happier. Loop was still a Viktor Nikiforov Fangirl, much to Yuuri’s amusement. He smiled as he watched Loop cling to Viktor. “Is this competition for number one fan?”

“Her collection will never be as complete as yours,” Yuuko teased. “I’d make some kind of threat here, but it’s Viktor. I don’t need to.”

Viktor tilted his head, looking at Yuuko in confusion. “Meaning?”

“Meaning that you’d have told me if my daughter was your soulmate, and you’d never do anything to hurt Yuuri. Adding yourself to Loop’s collection would hurt Yuuri.”

 

Running around Osaka with their friends was fun. They got roped into another birthday party – an Australian ladies’ skater who was having a big dream that night. “Thank god I don’t have to skate tomorrow. I don’t think I’d have my head anywhere near the ice!”

“Tahlia, if you have your head near the ice when you’re skating, you’ve probably done something horribly wrong,” Jude said with a completely straight face.

“Unless you’re in pairs and doing a death spiral,” Yuuko said, causing Jude to break down and laugh along with everyone else.

“What are you going to do tomorrow?” Viktor asked.

Tahlia shrugged. “Unless it’s someone here in Osaka, probably nothing. My soulmate should understand me not going to them right before a huge competition. Then it’ll be time to talk to them and figure out how we want to play things.”

On the way back to the hotel, Yuuri caught up with Bin. “Any baby news yet?”

“Not that Mari’s told me about yet. I haven’t expected any yet, either, allowing time for the pregnancy to become detectable. I’m hoping to hear something soon, but I’m not going to get impatient.”

“Good luck.”

 

The 8th started with ice dance and pairs. Since they didn’t have any friends in the competition, Yuuri and Viktor decided to skip in favor of studying and playing with adorable triplets. Yuuko interrupted playtime to pass on the gossip – Tahlia’s soulmate had come to Osaka to meet up with her, since she couldn’t go to her soulmate. Viktor approved. Good soulmate behavior!

They got to the rink early, since Yuuri wanted to support Sachio, who had drawn the first skate. He did very well, starting the day off with an 82. Yuuri found Togai, who was also in the first group. “Good luck today.”

“Thanks. You too, not that you need it. Is it true that Viktor’s already got a display spot set up for your gold medal?”

Yuuri blushed hard. “No! Please don’t let him hear that rumor, he’d start trying, but it seems to me like that’s just begging for me to hurt myself or miss too many jumps.”

“Heh. Yes, that’s about the only way you don’t win.”

“Not true – Cao Bin can beat me even if I have a good day, if he has just enough better of one.”

“Oh, of course, you say that, but you and Viktor stand alone at the top of the skating world. Since Viktor’s not in this competition, the gold is yours to lose.”

Togai’s coach came to take him out to the ice, leaving Yuuri a little shaken. He didn’t agree with Togai, but how many people saw him and Viktor that way? Was it a good thing, a target to aim at to take down, or a bad thing, discouraging skaters from trying their best? Togai at least did well, not quite breaking 80. The group finished with Paul earning an 85 to take the lead.

Jude started group 2 with a fall on a quad salchow, coming in just behind Sachio. Japan was likely to have a good day. No one from group 3 approached the leaders. In the final group, Su ended up coming in just behind Jude. Bin was the last skater other than Yuuri, and he ended up taking the lead Paul had held nearly since the beginning with an 87.

Yuuri liked skating last. It meant he knew what he had to do, and in this case, it meant he could relax and just let himself skate like he’d been skating in practice. This program had never scored below 88, so as long as he did what he’d already been doing this season, he’d have the lead. The thought made him fly through the quad toe loop and the step sequence, and his layback spin was flawless. Yakov had a lot of very minor criticisms, and the 94 was no surprise to Yuuri.

“What do you think of Togai? You were the last Japanese junior skater to come to Four Continents, and you ended up doing quite well. Do you think he’ll do as well?”

“No, but I’m certainly not going to rule it out. He’s a good skater, but he’s in seventh, so it would take an excellent skate to make up the ground to get into the medals. The skaters between him and bronze are very good.”

“That’s right, you were in third already after the short program, weren’t you? So all you had to do was hold on. Would you say that Togai is disappointing Japan?”

“Japan has three of the top ten skaters, including a skater who is in his first international senior competition. I think Japan is very proud of Togai.”

“Your score was well above Viktor’s. Do you think that’s a good sign for Worlds?”

“Viktor has done better. It’s a good sign, yes, but hardly a guarantee. I’m not counting on anything.”

“Would you say you’re better than Viktor at this point?” Yuuri just stared at the reporter. If he opened his mouth, he’d burst into laughter and not be able to stop. Better than Viktor? His short program was, this season, but overall? It was ridiculous. “As far as jumps go, he can do a quad Lutz and we’ve never seen that from you, but that’s it. Your presentation scores are better, and we hear that he goes to you for help with putting together his step sequences.”

Yuuri shook his head and cleared his throat. “Viktor and I both make each other stronger. I help Viktor put together step sequences; he helps me with my choreography and jumps. I can do the quads, except for the Lutz, but he is much better at them than I am. So no. I would not say I’m better than Viktor.”


	36. Chapter 36

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Four Continents. Yuuri's anxiety is mean.
> 
> Timeline: February 9-10, 2013

Viktor couldn’t stop snickering at the media when they got back to their room. “You’re better than me at some things, I’m better than you at some things, when we compete against each other it’s all about who’s going to have the better day. What are they trying to do, turn us against each other because we’ve gone boring and settled and happy together?”

“Seems like. But, um, I may need your help tonight.”

“Oh no! I didn’t bring my dragon or the ninja sheep!” Viktor hugged Yuuri and handed him a stuffed poodle. It wasn't special to him, but it at least looked like Vicchan. “What happened?”

“Togai said that you and I are on top of figure skating and everyone else – Bin, Chris, Georgi, Kamil, Misha, all of them – they’re not on our level. I got thinking about it, and… not counting your bronze at the World Team Trophy last year, since that wasn’t your fault, it’s been over a year since either of us lost to anyone but each other. Which means I’m probably due, right?”

Viktor held Yuuri tighter. “There’s no such thing as being ‘due’ for a loss. I know you can win this. You know you can win this. You’re an amazing skater and I’m glad to have company up here at the top.”

“It’s so weird up here. At least I’m with you.” Yuuri kissed Viktor and let Viktor comfort him.

 

Yuuko skated in the first group in the ladies’ short program, and she started things off beautifully. Her 64 held up through the first two groups, with no one else even breaking 60. Kang Hee, skating first in group 3, got into the 70s. Cathy also got into the 60s, while Sako was close with a 59. In the final group, Skye got close to Yuuko’s score, and Iona beat it, leaving Yuuko third for the day.

The big news out of the early groups in the men's skate was Canadian Clarien St Denis recovering from a terrible short program. Togai skated at the end of group three, and this time, he looked a little nervous. He ended up finishing behind Clarien and China’s Yuhan. In the final group, Sachio dropped, too, finishing behind Jude and probably out of the medals. Paul taking the lead meant that it didn’t matter – Paul was guaranteed a medal and Bin and Yuuri were likely to stay in the medals – but still, seeing both of his teammates drop got to Yuuri a little. Bin’s 172 meant that he wasn’t likely to challenge Yuuri, especially considering Yuuri’s seven point lead.

Yakov looked critically at him. “Yuuri. You can do this program. You know what you need to win, and it’s ten points lower than your lowest score from this season. Relax.”

“I’m trying. I know I can win this easily, but that isn’t helping. Winning's not all there is.”

“Just do your best. Whatever that is today.”

“Yes, Coach.” Yuuri headed out to center ice and waited. He wasn’t feeling the cooperation and unity this program was supposed to be about, but he shoved it all down when the music started. His opening quad flip-double toe combo was not good, but at least it wasn’t bad, either. That was reserved for his second combo, when he underrotated the triple toe loop. He got himself calmed down through the step sequence, so his second quad went fine, but at the end of the program, he got tangled up and fell out of his quad toe loop. This was not going to be a fun Kiss and Cry, and his score was going to suck.

Yakov showed no mercy, ripping into Yuuri’s jumps. Yuuri listened carefully – they’d both expected this program to be bad, but he could use this feedback later. The score, 177, was surprising only because Yuuri had thought it might be lower. The judges had been somewhat generous with the performance scores, he felt.

“Yuuri, how do you feel about the fact that you fell and still beat Bin by twelve points? Do you think this sets you apart from other skaters? Viktor excepted, of course.”

“I don’t think so. I don’t go into any competition with the thought that I can’t lose to someone there. My husband, if he’s there as well, of course, but there are others. Bin is one of the ones I consider a serious threat to me every time we skate against each other.”

“Do you think you’d feel differently if you weren’t friends or rinkmates with the people who make the podiums frequently?”

“No. I don’t.” Yuuri looked for Viktor in the audience. Viktor took the hint and came up to put an arm around him. “Being friends off the ice has nothing to do with how I approach skating against someone. Even my husband and rinkmates, my friendship with them doesn’t stop me from wanting to beat them, or them from wanting to beat me.”

 

Mari was waiting when Yuuri got out of the interview. “Hey. Congratulations.”

“Thanks! Glad you could make it.” Yuuri ran over and hugged her.

“Me too. Sorry I missed the short program, you looked really good on TV.”

“Thanks. Did you get to see Yuuko’s?”

Mari shook her head. “No, I missed the train and ended up having to wait for a while. I missed the first group of the men’s, but I didn’t think it would really matter. Long as I was here to see you and Bin, I didn’t care about the rest, and you two were last.”

“Oh. That sucks.”

“Meh. I’m gonna see her free skate, so it’s not like I’m missing her entirely.”

 

The ladies’ skate was the middle event on Sunday, after the pairs. There were some shakeups early in the skate, but when the last group started, Sako had the lead. Cathy and Skye both beat her, and to Yuuri’s delight, Yuuko took the lead to guarantee herself a medal. Iona had a couple mistakes that dropped her below Skye, and Kang Hee once again dominated, giving Yuuko silver and Skye bronze. Both women were very excited by the result.


	37. Chapter 37

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Valentine's Day and the International Challenger Cup.
> 
> Timeline: February 2013

Back in Saint Petersburg, Yuuri threw himself into school to forget the pressure of being the best in the world. Viktor laughed at him a bit, but also gave him lots of encouragement and cuddles. “At least you’ve heard it now. They can’t surprise you with it at Worlds. It’s going to be harder for you to win that one, you know!”

“Yeah. You’re there.” Yuuri stuck his tongue out at Viktor. “Everyone likes to do their best there. I’m looking forward to it.”

“Me too! And it’s in Milan, there’s so much to do and see and…”

“Shop for?” Yuuri teased.

“Yes! I’m looking forward to this so much.”

“Don’t go too crazy.”

“I won’t, I promise.”

Yuuri looked hard at Viktor, but decided to accept his word. “And don’t forget to wish Chris a happy birthday!”

“Already done! Which reminds me.” Viktor hopped up and disappeared, returning with a box of chocolate. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Yuuri.”

Yuuri took a piece of chocolate. “Wow! Did you make these?”

“Yes! While you were in class this morning.”

“They’re amazing! Are we going out tonight?”

“Tomorrow. No class on Saturday. Make the reporters happy, they can finally talk about us having a Valentine’s date. Not that it’ll be what they’re expecting, I’m just taking you out to dinner, but it’s more than we’ve done in the past.”

 

Last year, the International Challenger Cup had been pretty cool, so Yuri tried to have a good attitude when they went. It soured when he unpacked his bag and the card fell out. He looked at it, trying to decide what to do with it, and decided to do the smart thing. He took it to Yakov. “They gave me this in Belgrade and I forgot I still had it. Do you want it, or should I just throw it out?”

Yakov took the card and stared at it. He handed it back to Yuri. “Get rid of it. As long as it’s gone, I don’t care what you do with it.”

Yuri took the card back and ripped it into pieces, which he deposited in the trash can of his motel room. He finished hanging up his costumes and fell onto the bed. Emil wouldn’t be here. Otabek wouldn’t either. He didn’t know about Guang Hong, but Yuuri had warned him that Minami would be here this time. As long as Minami hadn’t gone and joined the Angels, Yuri wasn’t going to complain. The kid was enthusiastic and annoying but at least he treated Yuri like a person.

…Okay, so the kid was two years older than him. Yuri probably shouldn’t call him a kid. But he felt so much older that he couldn’t think of Minami any other way.

 

At practice, Yuri didn’t see Guang Hong. There weren’t as many boys here as there had been the year before – only one group this year. He waved to Minami and Richard before starting to warm up. Once he was comfortable, he skated over to Yakov. “What’s the rule on triples?”

“Do them if you want to. This is a showcase for sponsors, you can show off. Why do you ask? I let you do triples here last year.”

“Last year, there were more people here, and I wasn’t already in trouble.”

Yakov's eyebrows shot up. “You’re not in trouble this year. Be careful – Lilia said she saw Lev this morning when she went to get coffee. He’s here, whether for you or to watch the senior ladies doesn’t matter.”

“Ugh. That means Angels are probably gonna show up too.” Yuri skated off to practice his triples.

 

After practice, Minami came running up. “Hi! Are you going to watch the skating?”

“Probably not, my dad’s here and I’m trying to avoid him. I’m probably gonna go hang out in my room and study unless Lilia makes me go out somewhere or you or Richard have plans and want me to come along.”

“Have fun! Why are you avoiding your dad?”

“Because…” Yuri cut off and shook his head. “It’s a really long story, but the important part is that he abandoned me and is trying to force his way back into my life now.”

“That sucks! Have fun studying!”

 

For two days, Yuri managed to successfully avoid Lev and Angels both by only going to practice, meals, and one time over to Richard’s room to hang out with other skaters and watch a movie. The afternoon of the short program, his luck ran out, and the squeals of Angels let him know that he’d been caught. He found the sharpie he’d started carrying and prepared for a bunch of pictures and autographs. When Yakov came to rescue him, Yuri was very grateful.

Shutting it out proved problematic. He stepped out of his double axel, and he was still struggling with the presentation. At least his triples were clean – a triple Lutz-double toe loop combo, and finishing with a triple loop. Yakov was not happy. “Most skaters, I advise being nice to the fans. You, if they’re bothering you before a competition, it might be best to tell them to come back after the competition. Try not to be an asshole about it, but if you have to, you have to. And then make up for it by being nice after the competition.”

Yuri barely got above 42. It was good enough for a five point lead, but it was also the lowest he’d ever scored with triples. Yakov didn’t look too upset by it. He was more upset about Lilia leaving early to get to Milan for Junior Worlds. Mila wouldn’t be competing for a week, but she’d have practices to go to.

 

Before the free skate, Minami and Richard helped Yuri get into the locker room without having to deal with his fans. “Thanks. My fans are crazy.”

“They really are. You okay?” Richard said.

“Yeah, I’m fine, I can concentrate and get ready in here. You guys may regret helping me.”

Richard snorted. “Right, because I had a chance at beating you anyway. You’re nine points ahead of me and I still can’t do a triple flip or Lutz.”

“I’d rather lose to a competitor who did well than beat someone who was sabotaged by his own fans!” Minami added. “Why are they like this?”

“I wish I knew. I blame Lev.” Yuri shoved it out of his mind while he got stretched out and warmed up. He was determined to show off today, to redeem himself from yesterday’s crap performance. It helped a lot that his free skate had always been the stronger of his programs this year, and even more when Minami and Richard both scored in the 60s. Yuri could beat that by twenty, easy.

He took the ice on fire, starting out strong with a triple salchow-double toe loop combo. Yakov might yell at him for it, but aside from the double axel and the second jump in combos, Yuri didn’t plan on doing any jumps that weren’t triples. Yakov had told him to show off, after all. He sailed through the program, and when he landed his last triple, a loop, he felt great. It had been a clean program, and all he had left was a combination spin. He loved those. He was great at those. He nailed it.

“Next year, if you go to this one or the NRW, you should do a triple-triple combo. It’ll show growth from this year.”

“You’d let me?”

“Only at certain competitions. The general rule about saving triples for when you need them or have a reason to show off still applies until you move up to juniors. I assume you’ll want to do that after next season?”

“Hell yeah. If the ISU would let me, I’d move up after this season. I could win, I know it. Maybe not Worlds or the Grand Prix Finals, but qualifiers or other competitions, I could win.”

“You could. I don’t know if you have the stamina yet for a senior-length program, but if you do, you could probably medal in the lower-tier competitions, maybe even win.”

Yuri’s score popped up – nearly 89 points for a total of close to 131. Both personal bests. Even dealing with the Angels couldn’t stop Yuri from smiling, much to Yakov’s approval. The smile disappeared when Lev came over to get Yuri’s autograph. “What the fuck do you want with my autograph?”

“You’re my son… which means I’m a fan. Lots of fans get autographs from their idols.” Yuri rolled his eyes and signed the photo Lev held out to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I scared myself badly by mis-adding dates. Somehow I thought there was only a day between Yuri's free skate and Mila's short program, so Yakov wouldn't have time to take Yuri home if he wanted to be there for Mila. Yuri does not need to be travelling cross-continent alone!
> 
> I double-checked. There's a whole week. Plenty of time. And I came up with a better solution anyway.


	38. Chapter 38

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Junior Worlds, Part 1.
> 
> Timeline: end of February 2013

With Junior Worlds so close to Yuri’s competition, Yakov had been upset at the thought of taking Yuri home and missing another day or two of Mila’s pre-competition practices – not that he didn’t trust Lilia to take care of her off the ice, he just hated not being there for his skaters. Yuri had been the one to come up with the obvious solution. “So we don’t go home. It’s not like I’ve never gone to competitions to cheer on rinkmates.”

“You have a competition the next week.”

“It’s not really much of a competition, is it? More than before now that Richard can do a double axel, but still. I’ll be okay.”

Yakov scowled and shot Yuri a confused look. “What have you done with Yuri?”

“Aren’t you supposed to ask me who I am?”

“I don’t care who you are, I just want Yuri back.”

Yuri smirked. “I am Yuri. It’s just the choices are you miss even more of Mila’s competition, you send me back to Russia on my own – which I could totally handle, but there’s no way you’d ever let me – or I go to Milan where I have friends competing. I can miss the practice. It’s not like Lilia won’t find a way to drill me in ballet.”

“If it were just the travel, I know you could handle it. It’s your stalkers that mean I’d never let you go on your own.” Yuri couldn’t argue with that.

. 

Yakov bowed to logic, so Yuri got to go to Junior Worlds. This time, the squealing and glomping was… not welcome, exactly, but much more tolerable since it was coming from Mila, Phichit, and Emil. Otabek didn’t squeal or glomp, but he hugged Yuri. “It’s good to see you. I didn’t know you were coming.”

“Thanks. Best option for what to do with me.”

Phichit burst into laughter. “That explains why Yuuri was trying to figure out a way to not miss class and still get out here on the 1st! Probably Viktor’s idea, but still.”

Yuri rolled his eyes. “Those two are ridiculous.”

“Yeah, they are, but that’s why we love them.” Phichit got serious. “Isaak and I were talking, and we were wondering what you’d think of having another fan club.”

“What the FUCK?! NO! NO FUCKING WAY!” Yuri stared at Phichit in horror. “One is bad enough, why the fuck would I want another one?”

“Because it might take some power away from the Angels if you had another fan club that had better access to merchandise – and you know the Hamsters and our friends in Viktor’s fan club are well-behaved and respectful. Set it up with a tiger theme, get a public endorsement from you as the official club… and then the club wars bring in publicity, too, and the fact that you’re endorsing the well-behaved club will encourage fans to join us instead of the Angels.”

“I… guess I’ll think about it,” Yuri grumbled. He still hated the idea, but Phichit had some good points.

 

The first day of competition was ice dance and pairs. Yuri didn’t care at all about the ice dance, but Stas was skating in pairs, so he decided to go watch that part at least. Stas and Salomat did well, and they looked very pleased with their score. Yuri didn’t wait around to see where they finished – everyone was going on to the free skate, so he didn’t care. He, Otabek, and Mila left.

As they were leaving, Yuri heard a very familiar voice calling, “Yurotchka?” He turned around and shook his head. Figured.

“Hi, Mama. You and Boris came to watch Stas?”

“Yes. We were here anyway for work, so when Boris saw a sign about Junior Worlds being here…” Irina’s brow wrinked. “You’re not here to compete, so why are you here?”

“Supporting friends. Where’s Natasha?”

Irina pointed to where Boris was talking to some guy while holding Natasha. “Come on. I know she’ll be happy to see you.”

Yuri followed Irina over, Otabek and Mila coming with him. Boris looked as surprised as Irina had been to see him, but Natasha didn’t hesitate. She started squirming and reaching out. “YURA!”

Yuri smiled softly at her. “Hi, Natasha. Enjoying Milan?”

“Yes! Lots of pretty!”

“Hi, Boris. Stas did good.”

“He did. Are you still going to be here Friday?”

“Yeah, the people I came here to watch are gonna be skating the next three days. Speaking of.” Yuri introduced his friends.

“Do you already have plans, or would you be available to meet us somewhere to celebrate your birthday?” Boris asked.

Yuri shrugged. “I’m gonna call Viktor and Yuuri at some point, but sure, we can meet up. Can I bring my friends?”

“Sure, why not?” Boris took Natasha back. “We should probably get going. Good luck, Otabek, Mila.”

 

The men’s short program was on the second day. There were a few surprises. No one was surprised at the top three – Togai, Phichit, and Seung Gil – but JJ being in fourth was a surprise. Emil, Leo, Guang Hong, and Otabek all made the top ten. Mauno being twelfth wasn’t a surprise after he made a couple mistakes, but he’d been in the talks for medals. Also, no Russians in the top twelve, with Saviliy at thirteenth.

Yuri stuck around to watch the pairs. Stas and Salomat were tenth, out of sixteen, so Yuri figured there wouldn’t be much reason to stick around for the medal ceremony. Instead, he and Otabek headed off to join Mila and her friends at the hotel pool. “How come you stuck around to watch instead of going with the others?”

Otabek just gave a small smile. “They’re going to be surprised to see me. I’m still not the social type. Most competitions I spend all my time by myself.”

As predicted, there were a lot more questions about Otabek joining the party than Yuri. Otabek ignored them. Guang Hong found Yuri and hugged him. “It’s good to see you! You did great at the Challenger Cup!”

“Thanks. You did good here.”

“I know! I wasn’t expecting to do this well. Next year, yes, but this year? I’m probably going to drop a lot tomorrow, but that’s okay.” Guang Hong looked over his shoulder. “Can you do me a favor?”

“Maybe. What do you want?”

“Can you introduce me to Phichit Chulanont? I’ve tried to make myself talk to him and I can’t.”

Yuri rolled his eyes. “Come on.” He led them over to where Phichit was talking with Mila and Leo. “Hey, Phichit. Got a minute?”

“Sure.”

“Guang Hong wants to meet you and he’s being an idiot about it.”

Guang Hong shot Yuri a look, but Phichit’s face lit up in a bright smile. “Hi, Guang Hong! I promise I’m not scary. Are you a fan?”

“Yes. From social media.”

“Nice! Am I following you yet?”

“No…”

Phichit whipped out his cell phone. “What’s your name? Gotta correct that!”

Yuri took off. He’d done his job. Now Guang Hong had a new friend who wouldn’t let his shyness get in the way.


	39. Chapter 39

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuri's birthday and the end of Junior Worlds.
> 
> Timeline: March 1-2

Junior Ladies started in the morning, but with 45 skaters to get through, it was going to last well into the afternoon. Mila skated in the first group, and she did really well, earning a 53. Yuri left after Mila’s skate to call Yuuri and Viktor. “Hey guys. Mila did good.”

“That’s good to hear! Happy birthday, Yuri!” Viktor said. “Are you doing anything special?”

“Yeah, turns out Mama’s here, so she and Boris are gonna pick me and Otabek up for lunch and then we’re gonna go shopping and probably go see the Last Supper. Once Mila’s done watching the skating she’s gonna meet up with us.”

“Nice. I wish we could be there, but school…” Yuuri said. “Mila has your birthday presents.”

“Yeah, I know. You guys have been good about being around on my birthday when you can. How’s Potya? Does he miss me?”

“He does, but Makkachin and Vicchan are helping keep him distracted.” Viktor turned the computer so Yuri could see Potya grooming his paws. “Say hello, Potya!”

Potya looked up and meowed at the screen. Yuri meowed back, having a lovely conversation with Potya.

 

Irina, Boris, and Natasha picked Yuri up at 1. They had Stas and Salomat with them. “Hey. How’d you end up finishing? I forgot to check yesterday.”

“Seventh. Way better than expected, really,” Stas said.

Salomat giggled. “I’m starting to think there’s something to the whispers about being friends with Yuuri and Viktor makes you better skaters. It’s indirect, but Stas is your stepbrother, so…”

Yuri groaned and shook his head. “Oh, don’t start, it’s ridiculous. It’s more that good skaters end up in the same group as them so they’re more likely to meet them. You just got better because you’ve been working hard.”

Yuri thought he’d gotten used to shopping with celebrities, but it wasn’t anything like shopping in Milan with Boris. He wasn’t shy about dropping names, and sometimes someone would start to look at something only for Boris to tell them to forget it, the designer was a horrible human being who they shouldn’t support. Yuri didn’t expect to get anything, they hadn’t expected him to be here so if Irina remembered his birthday she’d probably mailed the presents to Saint Petersburg or Moscow.

Mila joined them at about four o’clock. “I’m in second! Corinna’s in first, and then there’s like four of us with 53s. Gonna be close tomorrow.”

“Congratulations,” Otabek said. “Good luck.”

They made sure to go see the Last Supper before the museum closed for the day, and then got back to shopping. After dinner, they headed back to the skaters’ hotel, where they gathered in Yuri’s room for presents. Yuuri and Viktor had sent some games for his DS and a black cap with tiger ears, which Yuri immediately put on with a huge smile. Viktor had also thrown in some hair ties with a note: “There is no such thing as too many if you’re going to keep growing it out!”

“I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that, actually,” Irina said. “Don’t you think your hair’s getting a bit long for a boy?”

“No. I think it’s not long enough.”

“Even if it makes you look like a girl?” Irina pushed.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing. What’s wrong with looking like a girl?”

“People will tease you about it…”

“So? No one has yet. If they start, I can take it. I don't give a crap what anyone says about it anyway, I like having my hair long. It looks good.” Yuri opened the other package, from Nikolai, which had some new training clothes and a nice warm coat and scarf.

Otabek handed him a small box, which Yuri looked at in confusion. He opened it to find a CD labeled ‘Songs for Yuri’ in sharpie. “What’s this for?”

“It’s your birthday present. You said you liked the music I listen to, so I put some songs I thought you’d like together for you. I could’ve done a Spotify playlist, but this way you got something to unwrap.”

“Thanks!”

Natasha hugged Yuri and handed him a clumsily-wrapped package. Yuri opened it to find a Lego kit that would become a cat. With that done, there was just figuring out whose shopping bags were whose. To Yuri’s surprise, not only did Irina hand him a bag with some of the clothes he’d been looking at earlier, Stas, Salomat, Otabek, and Mila all got something as well. Yuri’s bag also contained the now traditional socks and underwear.

There was a knock at the door. Yuri opened it to find Yakov. “This was left for you. I think it’s a birthday present from Lev.”

Yuri stared at it like it was a cockroach. “Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why won’t Lev take the hint and give up on me?”

Yakov shrugged. “I don’t know. Might as well open it, see what it is.”

Yuri hesitated. “You sure it’s safe?”

“Lev’s a sleazeball, but he’s not violent that I’ve ever heard of,” Irina said. “It’s probably safe to open.”

Yuri opened it. Inside was a set of big cat postcards and a leopard-print hoodie. “If I keep them, is Lev gonna take that as a hint that he’s got a foot in the door now?”

“He’d never know if you keep the postcards to decorate your room,” Irina said. “The hoodie… probably.”

“And if he does somehow find out that you kept the postcards to decorate your room, that tells us just how closely he’s stalking you, and at that point it becomes a matter for the police,” Boris added.

“What a cheerful thought!” Mila said. “You could donate the hoodie with your next batch of stuffed animals that you donate, or I could with my stuffed animals from here.”

 

The next day was the free skate for both men and women. Saviliy recovered, while Otabek, Guang Hong, and JJ all dropped considerably. Otabek finished tenth, Guang Hong eleventh, and JJ seventh. Seung Gil landed a quad toe loop, which gave him enough of a technical edge to give him the gold, while Phichit, thanks to a brilliant performance, took silver, and Togai got bronze. In the ladies’, Mila ended up with bronze, behind Corinna and Kei.


	40. Chapter 40

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Feldkirch and sharpen your cacti and prepare the spider army.
> 
> Timeline: March 5-8, 2013

There was just enough time to get back to Saint Petersburg before Yuri and Yakov left for Feldkirch. Yuri barely had time for anything but trading out clothes, sleep, and saying a quick hello to Potya (fine, and the dogs, Makkachin and Vicchan were okay, for dumb dogs). Getting out of the cuddlepile of animals so that Viktor could get him to Yakov and Lilia was annoying. Worth it, though, to have been in the cuddlepile to begin with.

Feldkirch was going to be boring. It was just him, Richard, and Moises. He didn’t have friends or family to go do things with, and the one family member who might be there wasn’t really family and was someone Yuri was trying to avoid.

It wasn’t easy, not with Angels somehow having found the flight he was on and mobbing the airport when he got out. Signing things was at least getting normal. Yuri barely looked at what he was signing until he came across a photograph he didn’t remember taking. He got Yakov’s attention and showed it to him.

It wasn’t that the photograph was bad, by any means. Good angle, him in his free skate costume from the year before, photoshopped to give him a tiger’s ears and tail, posed in front of a jungle. Yuri loved it. He just had no idea where it had come from.

The most obvious way to find out was to ask. “Hey. Where’d you get this?”

“It’s official Angel merchandise! Isn’t it cool?”

“It is. So an online store, or…?”

“Yeah. On the website, there’s a link.”

“Cool. Thanks.” Yuri signed it and handed it to the girl.

Once done and he was finally able to get to the hotel, he pulled up the website and went to the store. Sure enough, there it was, along with a doll and… a pillowcase? That was a little weird. Why would someone want to sleep on someone’s picture? “Yakov, did you authorize this?”

Yakov looked at it. “No. The Angels have deals with anyone who makes merchandise of you to distribute, but unless Irina signed and forgot to tell me, they don’t have any authority to create their own. I’ll check with her.”

 

Irina hadn’t signed anything lately, so Yakov got his lawyer on the case. It was at least easy to shove aside to focus for skating. Yakov and Richard made sure he got into the locker room without hassle. Yuri was very glad this season was nearly over – this short program had never quite worked for him. Next season, he was going with something way more fun as a theme.

He’d never been happy with his performance scores on this program, so he decided to relax and take it easy with the technical elements so that he could really focus on interpretation. It paid off, too, with his best performance score of the season. Yakov looked at him oddly. “You can do better than that on the technical score and you know it, so… what happened there?”

“I didn’t need to go too hard, and you know I’ve had trouble performing. It worked, I’m in first, by a lot.”

“You didn’t feel like you needed to push?”

“I did – just not on the technical side. Moises can’t even do a double axel, Richard’s landed them but he’s still not consistent, my spins are way better than theirs. So I needed to push where I was weak instead of relying on where I’ve been strong all year.”

“Good answer. Just don’t get lazy because you’re winning easily. In a little over a year, when you go to juniors…”

Yuri rolled his eyes. “I know, I know, better competition and I’ll have to work at it. Don’t worry about it.” What did Yakov want? Yuri pushed himself technically, he got yelled at for trying to do too much. He dialed it back to focus on performance, he got called lazy. It was frustrating, to say the least.

 

The next day, Yuri got to the rink ridiculously early. It helped him avoid Angels. He’d transferred Otabek’s CD to his phone, so he could listen to it while he stretched. It was awesome. Yakov was going to hate it. He’d been skeptical, but this present? Was awesome.

When he had to go out to skate, he checked the scores. Nothing he couldn’t beat easily, but with Yakov’s words from yesterday still ringing in the back of his mind, it didn’t matter. This one, he’d had a lot less trouble with the performance score, so no need to dial back his program. It went well, and he topped 58 for the free skate, putting him over 95 total. “Better?”

“More like you, anyway. Go get your medal, and then we need to talk.”

Well, that wasn’t ominous or anything. Yuri tried not to let it spoil the medal ceremony, and hey, it was a good excuse to ignore the fans. Or so he thought. Yakov made him stay as long as there were fans wanting autographs.

Finally, though, they got back to the hotel. “I heard from the lawyers this morning. The company who was making those unauthorized merchandise items for the Angels was acting in good faith. They were commissioned by the fan club that you’ve been treating as legitimate, and they had your father’s authorization to use your likeness. They were quite apologetic when they found out Lev does not have that authority. What concerns me is that they believed you had signed the contract as well.”

“I didn’t sign anything you don’t know about!” Yuri protested. Yakov had made the consequences of that very clear, and Yuri wasn’t about to accept them.

“I know. You’re young and impulsive, but you’re not stupid, and you know why you shouldn’t.”

Yuri relaxed, but… “So who did sign it?”

“We can’t prove it, but I think it was probably Lev. He got your autograph and could use that as a template to practice forging your signature.” Yakov shook his head. “I failed you there. I should have blocked that. I’m sorry.”

“Fu… forget that, I knew I’d regret signing it but I didn’t want to deal with the press running stories about what an awful son I am to kick my own father out of my life and then not even let him be my fan. I don’t have as much experience with him as you and Mama do, but I have enough to know better. What do we do?”

“Unless we get better proof that Lev signed it than my gut feeling, all we can do is spread the word that someone out there is forging your signature and that Lev is not a legitimate guardian. We’re working on the proof.”


	41. Chapter 41

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Off to Worlds!
> 
> Timeline: March 10-12, 2013

Since Mila was officially in off-season, she came along with everyone to Worlds. Yakov called all his skaters together to pass on the latest news about Lev and Yuri. “You may get questions about him. Don’t say anything about the suspicions of forgery. Without proof, there’s no point in hurling accusations, and he’s cocky enough he may not think we suspect him.”

“Yes, Coach!” everyone promised. Yuri submitted with reasonably good grace to all the hugs.

Not even Yuuri could stop Viktor from heading straight for the shopping once they were turned loose. Shopping in Milan was too much fun to pass up. Yuri refused to go – he’d had enough with Boris and Irina. “Are they still here?” Yuuri asked.

“No, they left right after Junior Worlds. Probably just as well, Mama would freak over the Lev thing and it’s probably a good idea not to be on the same continent as her when she finds out.”

Mila, Chris and Masumi, Misha, Yuuko, and the Crispinos joined the shopping trip. “Where’s Mari? I thought she’d be here!” Viktor said.

“She will be. She just had a couple things to finish up at school before she could come. She’ll be here by the time you guys actually compete, I promise,” Yuuko said. “Weather cooperating, she should be here tomorrow night.”

Keeping Viktor under control was not as hard as Yuuri had feared. If he was buying something for himself, Yuuri didn’t try, and most other people, he only put up token protest. If Viktor was wanting to buy something for Yuuri or Yuri, though, Yuuri would fight him to keep limits.

After Yuuri had talked him out of buying Yuri some cobweb leggings, Viktor had to ask, “How is shopping for Yuri different from shopping for the triplets or Mila or Nika?”

“Yuri’s still leaning on you for sponsorship more than he’s comfortable with.”

“You mean at all.”

“Yes, but that’s beside the point. The point is that he’s going to be even more uncomfortable accepting gifts from you too. He’s told you this before. We ignore it for his birthday because it’s his birthday, but his birthday’s over and there’s no good reason to ignore it now. I’m not saying we don’t get him anything, but treat him more like me than like the others.”

 

Mari arrived the next night, but after saying hello, she went straight to her room and faceplanted. Yuuri could sympathize – those flights were not easy, and she’d just finished finals! When she wouldn’t wake up to come get dinner, Yuuri started to worry a little, and when he got back from practice and still hadn’t heard from her, he started to worry a lot. He was very relieved when he finally got a text from her around noon. “Sorry to freak you out. Just exhausted. Lunch?”

They met up at a café, where they were joined by Bin. Mari still looked tired. “Are you sure you’re okay, Mari?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just finals and the flight and dealing with Mom freaking out about me getting on an airplane right now.”

Yuuri tilted his head, staring at Mari. “Mom never freaks out about… anything, really. But we’ve both done a lot of flying and she’s never worried before.”

“Yeah, well. This one’s different.” Mari took a sip of her tea. “Timing’s not exactly the greatest, early November’s right in the middle of the Grand Prix, but you’re gonna need to get to Hasetsu this fall.”

It took Bin a minute, but then his whole being lit up and he jumped up to hug her. “Already? Wow. That’s… that’s amazing, Mari! Thank you. Thank you so much.”

Mari hugged back. “You’re welcome. Just found out a couple days ago, figured I could save the news to tell you in person.”

“Early November? Might make it difficult for us to get there, depending on assignments, but if there’s any way possible we’ll be there too,” Yuuri said. There was a small window, if it wasn't the week of or the week before a competition, where Yakov might let them go. Not much chance of that, but it could happen.

Mari just nodded. “If assignments work out, great, if not, nine months pregnant or not I will kick both your asses if either of you withdraws from a competition. I have a really good support system, even if Yuuko ends up assigned that week. There’ll be plenty of time for you to meet the kid later.”

“I figure you’re not gonna make some grand announcement to the press, but is it okay if we tell friends? Phichit and Chris and Misha?” Viktor asked.

Bin and Mari looked at each other. “Not yet. May you can start telling people. Just in case something happens,” Mari decided. “And before any of you start, flying is not going to increase the chance of something happening. Just could really suck if something happens on the plane.”

Bin huffed softly. “If I start acting like an overprotective asshole, feel free to kick me. If there’s anything you need during the next year or so, all you have to do is ask.”


	42. Chapter 42

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Worlds Short Programs!
> 
> March 13-14, 2013

The first day of skating started with pairs, which Yuuri and Viktor ignored to prepare for their own short program afterward. It was quiet and calm and Yuuri enjoyed the peace. He didn’t worry about it too much when the Japanese team ended up in seventh – between him, Sachio, and the ladies’ skaters, Japan just needed their pairs and ice dancers to be in reasonably decent position to qualify for the World Team Trophy and the new Olympic team event. Russia was in good shape, too, with Timofey and Angelina in third.

Men’s singles was the later event that day. In the first two groups, there were some good skaters, but no one Yuuri or Viktor paid much attention to. The third group had Phichit’s friend Lukas, so that one, they took a break from warming up to watch. He did well, placing second for the moment, although his score was quickly beaten by the last two skaters in his group, Ben and Yuhan. Group four, Yuuri and Viktor paid much closer attention to. Masaki started off by taking the lead from Kyle, which he almost immediately lost to Sachio. Kamil had a great skate that put him up at the top, and Georgi and Jude both did well but not well enough.

Yuuri was up first in group five. From the moment he set foot on the ice for warmups, he had a good feeling about the day, and his practice quads all went well. Viktor stayed out with Yakov when the other skaters left the ice to give Yuuri a good luck kiss before he started. When the music started, Yuuri got into the aggressive mindset of the program easily. He started huge with his quad toe loop. No mistakes in his step sequence, none in his spins, and when he took off for the triple axel at the end of the program, he soared. Take that, Reapers.

Yakov had very little to say, and all very picky things. No one was surprised when Yuuri’s score popped up as a new world record at 96.71. Viktor hugged Yuuri in congratulations. “Challenge accepted, my love!”

Yuuri felt bad for Liao Su, who had the unenviable position of skating between Yuuri and Viktor. He did all right, not spectacular, but certainly not shaming China. Viktor kicked his program off with a huge quad salchow-triple toe loop combo, and Yuuri grinned as he watched Viktor go after the challenge Yuuri had set him with a vengeance. He’d never seen such a good combination spin from Viktor, and the step sequence he finished up with was incredible. It was definitely a gold medal performance that lived up to the Olympic ideals.

Once again, Yakov was very quiet, to the point of telling Viktor that his makeup was a little smudged from hugging Yuuri earlier, which caused Viktor to snort. “If you’re talking about my makeup, then I may have won the challenge!” It wasn’t long before it was confirmed: Viktor had gotten 98.37, another world record.

Paul did respectably well, although not getting near the top skaters. In the last group, Bin started things off by breaking 90, which Misha couldn’t quite do, but Misha did end up in fourth. Chris fell on his triple axel, which dropped him all the way to ninth, and Michele wound up in fourteenth.

“Congratulations on your matching world records! Was that planned, whoever went last got to hold the record?”

Viktor stared at the reporter. “My husband and I never go into any competition with the intention of doing anything less than our absolute best, with our goal being to have the best score we can get and ideally to win. Neither of us likes the thought of being given a win, even in the sense of someone being hurt and not able to skate up to their potential that day. If I ever found out Yuuri let me beat him instead of coming after me with everything he has, I would be very upset.”

Yuuri laced his fingers through Viktor’s. “I wasn’t holding anything back trying to let Viktor beat me. I would never do that. I went out there and I skated the absolute best I could today, and it was good, but not good enough for first place. I’m very proud of both my own skate and my husband’s, and I just hope we can match that level of performance in our free skates on Friday.”

“Bin is in third. If he’s on the podium with you, would that make you two happy?”

“Sure! Bin is a friend, and he skated very well today. There is no one in the top ten I’d be upset about sharing a podium with.” Viktor winked at the reporters. “And I’m only saying top ten because usually it’s very difficult to get on the podium from too far behind, and ten is a nice round number, so I don’t want to see anything about us hating Su!”

It got a good laugh. “But it’s okay for us to talk about you hating Clarien?” one reporter teased. “Because that would be the top half tomorrow.”

“There is no one skating who I hate, or that I know that Viktor does,” Yuuri said. “And yes, before anyone asks the ridiculous question, that does include Rykov.”

 

The second day of skating featured ice dance and ladies. Ice dance was dominated by France, with two of the top three spots, while Masumi and Jolanda took second. Anya and Christov represented Russia well as they took fourth, while Olesya and Anatolij struggled a bit and dropped to eighth, just ahead of the Japanese team. Not an ideal situation, but not a bad one either.

In the ladies’s skate, Viktor and Yuuri watched their friends do very well. Kang Hee set a world record herself, and Iona, Yuuko, and Sako gave Japan three of the top six skaters. Sara finished in seventh, not far from Sako’s score. The two big disappointments of the day were Skye, who couldn’t shake off a fall in the early program and took eleventh, and Raisa, who finished thirteenth, shutting Russia out of the top two groups.


	43. Chapter 43

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Free Skates! And cuddles!
> 
> Timeline: March 15-16

Viktor wasn’t a bit surprised when he woke up to an already-awake Yuuri lying tense beside him muttering to himself. He listened long enough to make sure it was Yuuri trying to talk himself up instead of berating himself before cuddling up closer to him. “Yuuri?”

Yuuri jumped a little, but relaxed quickly. “Vitya! Did I wake you up?”

“No, I woke up on my own, and noticed you were upset. Anything specific bothering you, or just the usual competition nerves?”

“Just the usual, which means it’s the hardest to fight because I’ve been fighting the battle for so long.” Yuuri rolled over to face Viktor. “I’m not worried about losing to you, you’re ahead of me already and if you skate your best I can’t catch you, but if I collapse and miss the podium after setting a ten-minute world record…”

Viktor kissed Yuuri’s nose. “Then you’ve had a bad day and we all know those happen. The media will probably have some things to say about it, but there’s no winning there. The narrative will probably be that you were so angry at me for stealing your world record after ten minutes you couldn’t concentrate on skating, and everyone knows that’s silly.”

Yuuri giggled. “Yeah, that would be what they’d have to say about it, isn’t it? They’re so ridiculous.”

“Do you think you can sleep more, or do you want to fool around a little? We can always take a nap during the pairs skating.”

“Yakov would kill us if he knew we were fooling around the day of a competition…”

“Probably.” Viktor winked at Yuuri. “Were you planning on telling him?”

“No. Just thought I should put up the token protest.”

 

Yakov didn’t say anything about Yuuri and Viktor being a little less rested than might be expected during morning practice, or about them running back to the hotel right after for a nap. Viktor checked the pairs scores when they got back to the rink – there were two pairs left to skate, but they looked about the same as the day before. The only two teams he cared about were the Russian’s top team, who were in the lead but likely to end up third, and the Japanese team, who were probably going to take seventh.

Viktor only briefly paid attention to the first group, when Lukas skated. He did well again, and at the end of the group, he was in first. It wasn’t likely to hold up, but it was still good. After the second group, Michele had taken the lead, and Kaleb had an unusually bad skate. Group three started with Su and Masaki both doing well, and then Christophe recovering very well from his bad skate the day before. He wouldn’t medal, but he had a chance at the top six. Jude, on the other hand, dropped a lot, falling down to fourth. Georgi finished the group by finishing just below Chris.

Group four started with Sachio, who dropped below Chris and Georgi. The worst he could finish was eighth, which took a lot of pressure off Yuuri. He could beat Chris easily, which was enough for fifth, which was enough for Japan to send three skaters to the Olympics. Kamil, Misha, and Bin each took the lead on their skates, guaranteeing Bin a medal.

Yuuri took the ice without the confidence he’d had the day before, but also without much pressure. He could probably fall and still hold onto his silver, Japan had their three slots unless he had to withdraw, so all he had to do was skate and not have a total meltdown. His quad flip didn’t get the height it usually did, leaving him just a little underrotated, but he recovered nicely with his triple axel. Everything went well until his second quad, a quad salchow, which wasn’t bad, just not good. Then he fell on his next jump, a triple Lutz. With the choreographic sequence to calm him down, he had a good chance to shake it off before his last two jumps, and his quad toe loop right at the end of his program was his best quad of the day.

Yakov had a lot to talk about with the first two quads and the triple Lutz, but it wasn’t a bad lecture at all. Yuuri was happy to wait for his score – 184, putting him just over 281. Not quite an overall world record, but oh so close.

Viktor had even less pressure than Yuuri. He could win, if he didn’t win he’d be losing to Yuuri, even if he did have to withdraw, Misha and Georgi were in good enough position for Russia to still send three skaters to the Olympics. Starting out with a quad flip-triple toe loop combo gave him confidence, although a bobble on the triple axel afterward wasn’t good. His quad Lutz was also clean, but then he nearly touched down out of the quad toe loop. He didn’t, he kept his hand off the ice, but it was close. From there out, he was fine, but he had to believe he’d left enough points that he’d need the cushion from the short program in order to win.

He completely ignored Yakov’s lecture while he went back through his program, trying to guess who would come out on top. When his score was posted, he burst into laughter. Six hundredths ahead of Yuuri for gold here, but two hundredths off Yuuri’s world record for the overall program.

On the podium, Viktor couldn’t resist teasing Bin a little. “This must be your favorite Worlds ever. A medal and Mari’s news all at once?”

Bin grinned. “Honestly, I think that might be why I’m up here instead of Misha or Kamil. Pressure of waiting and hoping is gone, and the reality of all the changes ahead hasn’t quite sunk in yet, it was the perfect window for a huge skate. Sorry you guys both got so close to the record without breaking it, but there’s still World Team. Russia and Japan should both be there.”

“China, too. We’ll see you there.” Yuuri smiled up at Viktor. “First question from the reporters: who’s more upset, me for losing or you for not getting my record?”

“Someone’s going to ask if I messed up that salchow so you’d get to keep that record since I stole your other one, I’m sure.”

Yuuri’s prediction was accurate, causing some confusion among the press when Viktor and Yuuri looked at each other and burst into giggles before answering. Yuuri recovered first. “Probably Viktor. I’m just thrilled that I got so close despite the fall. It’s not something to take for granted!”

Viktor’s prediction didn’t come true right away, but when Viktor got online that night, he found it. “Here we are! Predictions that I am a ridiculous person who can perfectly predict scores and knew exactly what I had to do to beat you without getting the record!”

“Of course. Come on, forget them, we have medals to celebrate.”

 

In ice dance, there was a little shakeup as one of the French teams dropped a bit, and an American team shot up with a beautiful performance. Jolanda and Masumi put forth a good performance, but not good enough to overcome Solène and Jean-Augustin, the hot new French pair. Anya and Christov finished in fourth, just out of the medals.

Both Russian ladies’ skaters recovered a bit, but not as much as could be desired. Skye recovered a bit, and she and Raisa both finished in the top 10. Sara snuck into the top six, while Yuuko beat out Emily that guaranteed her a medal once Saila dropped. Iona and Kang Hee held on for silver and gold, respectively.


	44. Chapter 44

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuri competes again in the Coupe de Printemps.
> 
> Timeline: March 22-24, 2013

With Worlds over, they had a chance to sit back and breathe for a couple days. Yuuri, Viktor, and Misha still had the World Team Trophy – Misha’s fourth place had earned him the spot. Georgi didn’t mind. He was still planning on going, since Anya was going as their half of their ice dance team.

Before that, though, Yuri had two more competitions that season. The first one was a lower-level competition, the Coupe de Printemps, that happened to work with other competition dates. Yuri wasn’t really expecting to see anyone he knew there – Richard wasn’t coming, because he didn’t want to compete that close to the European Criterium Cup, which would be a week later. He was also hoping not to see Lev or a horde of Angels, since it wasn’t a major competition for him.

The fact that he saw some Angels was not a surprise. Some of his fangirls were obsessive enough to check every competition’s entry list, probably. He could deal with that, as long as Lev didn’t show up. Seeing Kenjirou, that was a surprise. “What are you doing here?”

“Last novice competition! I’m going to Juniors next season, and Coach Nishigori thought I could use the experience. If Togai moves up, which he probably will to make a stronger case for the third Olympic slot, there’s already been some talk that I’m going to be the favorite in Japan for Junior Nationals. Just because I’m training in Hasetsu. It’s kinda silly.”

Yuri scoffed. “They do know Yuuri didn’t become half of the Katsuki-Nikiforov Dynasty until he came to Russia, right?”

“True, but he was good enough to get Yakov to take a foreign skater coming out of Hasetsu. Viktor’s soulmate or not, if Yakov didn’t like what he saw, he wouldn’t have taken Yuuri!”

“Yeah. True. Good luck.”

 

The first couple of days, Yuri didn’t have to skate, so he hid except for when he joined Minami and Ivo and some of the others for a game of laser tag. A little voice in the back of his head was telling him that he should go explore the city. It sounded a lot like Viktor’s voice. He chose to ignore it. Was there anything really interesting in Luxembourg? There wasn’t even a zoo to go see cats at. Yuri had checked.

He got to the rink early for the short program to assess for risks. He didn’t see anything he couldn’t handle, so he set about warming up and getting his hair done while he waited. There were enough boys for two groups, for once, and he’d be skating in the second group. His attention was caught when someone in the first group landed a clean double axel – an eleven-year-old German skater, Klaus Mitter. He’d have to watch out for that kid next year. Kenjirou put up a good score of 32, one that Yuri thought he could beat, but still a challenge.

Yakov’s warnings about laziness came back to him as he took the ice. Even with a good excuse, he decided to go ahead and put forth more effort on the technical side, and it showed – both in a much better combo spin and double loop, and in a lower presentation score. His overall score was just a little lower than it had been in Feldkirch. Still good enough for first, but Yuri wasn’t happy with it. Yakov was, and it showed in the critique. “I know you can skate it better, but even the improvement today wasn’t at too much cost of presentation.”

“I was lower overall.”

“Only by a tenth. There’s always some fluctuation. I think you’re finally getting a good handle on this program.”

“Did you watch Mitter?”

Yakov shook his head. “I checked him out just to be thorough, but today was the first time he’d ever landed a double axel. Next year, he’ll be someone to keep an eye on, he only just turned eleven a few days ago, but you shouldn’t have trouble with him tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow. You’ll be skating last, so you’ll get to see what everyone else is doing. If Minami does any triples, you can match him.”

“Cool! Thanks, Yakov. Have you seen any sign of Lev?”

“No. I’d love for it to stay that way. He may be laying low, or he may just not have seen that you’d be here. We’ll find out next week.”

 

With the free skate starting at 8 am, Yuri decided not to try to get there too early. Any fangirl obsessive enough to show up that early probably deserved to get an autograph. There were three, and those three were mostly okay – there was shrieking, but no one tried anything that made him uncomfortable, and they all had merchandise Yuri recognized as authorized.

Klaus fell on his attempt at a double axel that day, and Yuri felt a little bad for him. Minami did attempt a triple, but it was underrotated and he fell to boot, so Yuri wasn’t sure it counted and he didn’t want to ask Yakov. Instead, he just focused on doing the best he could with his program and the doubles. He started off with a truly outstanding double salchow-double toe loop combo, and kept the strong execution going through his jumps and spins and steps. It was going to be a great score, Yuri could tell as he left the ice.

Yakov was waiting for him. “No triple?”

“Well, you said to match Minami, and I decided I didn’t want to have to fall. I don’t think I needed it, and it’s a better show for the fans, right?”

“True.” Yakov’s criticism was very picky, so Yuri tuned it out and waited for the score. Over 60, without a triple. He’d never done that before. He’d never seen that done before. He’d probably do it again next year, which meant he was cursing the stupid rules that were holding him back. He was ready for juniors. The only triple he couldn’t do was the triple axel, and that was only because Yakov wouldn’t let him until he was preparing for juniors. When he finally did get to start juniors, he may well not have any competition there, either. He'd checked the juniors' scores here, and while admittedly these weren't the best juniors out there, he would have beaten some of them with the equivalent of one arm tied behind his back.


	45. Chapter 45

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> European Criterium Cup

They were only back home for a few days before Yakov and Yuri had to leave again, this time for the European Criterium Cup. “It won’t be much of a challenge, Yuri, but I’m turning you loose anyway. It’s the end of the season. Don’t overexert yourself, but you can do as many triples as you want. No sense holding back in a championship.”

“Thanks.” Now Yuri was really looking forward to this. He curled up in his seat on the plane. “I know Lev’s gonna be there unless we really did spook him off for now. Do you think he’ll try anything?”

Yakov sighed. “I don’t know. The fake signature is the kind of thing that a respectable company is only going to fall for once, but he has to know that you won’t sign off on anything, and even some of the shady companies won’t have anything to do with one of my skaters because they know I look out for mine. If he’s desperate enough, he may decide that the time’s come to kidnap you. Or he may decide to disappear for a couple years and then show up having ‘reformed’ himself and apologize for his mistakes this time around. If he does, I would recommend that you not believe him. You can let him work to prove it if you want, although your mother will not approve of it, but I wouldn’t trust the man as far as Nika could throw him.”

“You really think he’d try to kidnap me? I thought he wouldn’t try that because it would only work once.”

Yakov shrugged. “Only if he’s desperate enough to get stupid. Lev is an asshole, a charlatan, a con man, whatever else you want to call him… but he’s not stupid. Keep your phone charged, don’t go anywhere alone, but I don’t see any reason you can’t go to laser tag with your friends or especially why you should withdraw from the competition.”

Yuri rolled his eyes at the mention of friends. Otabek wouldn’t be here. Richard and Ivo and Moises were all right, but Yuri wouldn’t exactly call them friends. Who did Yakov think Yuri was, Viktor?

 

Lev didn’t show for the first couple days, so Yuri spent a lot of time hanging out with the other novice boys at the hotel pool, playing laser tag, and watching movies. The morning of the short program, he was a lot jumpier, and he wasn’t surprised that he had to keep close to Yakov to fight his way through the small horde of fangirls.

The scores were good, but nothing Yuri couldn’t beat easily. He started out well with a huge double axel, and nailed the triple Lutz-double toe loop combo. Next year, he wanted to do a triple-triple combo. Hell, he’d be all right with a fall tomorrow, he could fuck it up completely and still win. Why not go for it? He was still thinking about it when he took off for his triple loop, and he stumbled out of it. Yakov was gonna give him hell for that.

It didn’t take long, either. Yuri had barely sat down when Yakov said, “What happened out there? After the combo, you looked like your brain was anywhere but the ice.”

“It was on the ice!” Yuri protested. Yakov raised an eyebrow at him. “It was. Just not this ice. I got started thinking about next season.”

“Well, this season isn’t over yet, so don’t lose focus in the middle of a program.” Yakov continued from there, but Yuri didn’t pay much attention. He caught enough of it to get the points. His score was just over 46, just under his personal best. That drove home the lesson of not losing focus better than any of Yakov’s ranting could. He could’ve been celebrating a personal best if he’d kept his mind in the game instead of thinking ahead.

Afterward, the Angels weren’t going to let him go without signing things. Yakov stayed with him. “You know, at senior competitions, skaters will usually schedule signing sessions. I’ve never seen one at a novice competition, but I’ve never seen a novice with a fan club as eager as yours, either. It might be something to look into for next year.”

“Better than getting ambushed when I just want to get back to my room and call Viktor and Otabek.” Yuri shook out his hand and reached for the next thing to sign.

It wasn’t until he made it back to his room that he realized he hadn’t seen Lev at all. Nothing of value was lost, but still, at least he’d know. Oh well. He had calls to make.

 

The next day started with texts from Otabek.

_**My sister Dariya joined the Angels.** _  
**_She knows they’re awful and that you hate them, but she’s spying for you._ **  
**_I don’t know whether I should keep her away from Phichit forever or suggest he recruit her as an apprentice._ **  
**_The message board is going crazy trying to figure out who Otabek is. Did you say something about me?_ **

_Yeah, I said I wanted to call you instead of signing a million autographs after I skated._

**_Heh. Thanks. There’s at least one person on the board who’s convinced Otabek is your soulmate._ **

_Seriously? Already? Ugh. Thanks for letting me know. And tell Dariya thanks too._  
_Anyone guessing it’s you?_

**_One person suggested it, but she got shut down. Apparently you’re only friends with good skaters, and I’m not._ **

_That’s bullshit. You’re a good skater. You don’t get into the Junior Grand Prix if you’re not._

_**I know that and you know that but your fanclub, apparently, doesn’t.** _

Yuri felt vaguely unsettled while he waited to skate. It’s not that the idea of Otabek being his soulmate sucked, although Otabek was fourteen, it would be years before they’d know. He just hadn’t thought about his soulmate for a while, because what if he got someone like Lev? And he was twelve, he had a while before most people would even think of coming to meet him unless there were exceptional circumstances like Viktor’s inability to keep his mouth shut. He’d hoped not to start getting talk about his soulmate for another two years at least.

He was able to shove it aside when he took the ice, thinking instead about his plan to do a triple-triple combo. May as well do it right off, his first jump was a combo anyway. Triple salchow, check, into a triple toe loop… the rotations were there, barely, as he landed it. The triumph of it meant his flying sit spin went better than usual, and when all his jumps were clean through the rest of the program, he couldn’t contain the excitement.

Yakov was scowling when Yuri came off the ice. “You haven’t been practicing that. Why’d you go for it?”

“To see if I could do it. Unless I hurt myself, even if I failed, it would still be something to show off to sponsors that I’m willing to try harder things. You said I could do all the triples I wanted.”

“I did, didn’t I. Don’t do that again unless you’ve been practicing it, that’s a good way to get yourself hurt.”

Yuri’s score, over 89, beat Richard’s overall score of 87. Yuri felt a little bad about that, but Richard was grinning on the podium. “That was so cool, Yuri! Are you sure the ISU won’t grant you an exception to go up to Juniors early?”

“I wish, but no. They won’t. They’re really strict on it. You’re stuck with me for another year.”


	46. Chapter 46

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> World Team Trophy, part 1. Yakov sets Viktor and Yuuri a challenge for the next season.

When Yuri made it back to Saint Petersburg safely, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. It was the off-season; surely Lev wouldn’t be stupid enough to show up in Saint Petersburg; Yuri had the chance to relax and catch his breath. Mila was enjoying her off-season, as was Georgi. Despite the somewhat disappointing season and the talk of retirement for Misha, he was chosen as Russia’s second representative for the men’s skate. Last year, he’d withdrawn due to injury; this year he planned to kick ass to make up for it.

As expected, Japan and Russia both made it, as well as America, Canada, France, and China. Thanks to Chris, Masumi, and Jolanda, Switzerland got close, but didn’t quite make it in. “Based on what I’ve heard about the Olympics, we should be part of the team event there!” Chris said. “It’ll be a little different than the World Team Trophy format, and they’re inviting ten teams instead of six. Russia gets in just because of being the host, of course, not that you need it.”

“This is gonna be so fun. Wish you were coming to Tokyo, though!”

 

In Tokyo, Yuuri and Viktor met up with Mari and the Nishigoris right away. The triplets were almost three now, and very adorable tucked into the big bed for a nap together. “I love them so much, but they are driving me crazy,” Yuuko said. “They’re so full of energy and they coordinate their mischief. Axel and Loop have already figured out exactly how to distract me so that Lutz can steal my phone. They’re barely even reading yet and already trying to get addicted to that thing.”

“They’re reading?”

“They recognize some names – theirs, mine and Takeshi’s, yours and Viktor’s and Mari’s, our parents. It’s not really reading, but they’ve made the connection that those symbols mean things and it’s just a matter of matching symbols to meanings.” Yuuko shrugged. “They’re not anywhere close to writing, of course. They can barely color.”

“The fun part’s coming. We’re hoping to get them potty trained during the off-season,” Takeshi said. “I can’t decide if having three of them will make it easier because they’ll reinforce each other or harder because three of them.”

“Good luck.” Mari smirked. “Best thing about this arrangement with Bin or eventually with these two: their dads are responsible for the potty training. I get to hand them off long before then.”

“You don’t want kids of your own, that you get to keep and raise at Yu-Topia?” Viktor said.

“I dunno. Maybe. I’ll see how things go with this one before I start seriously thinking about it. I’ve got a couple guys who’d probably be happy to give me one.”

“Or, possibly, three,” Yuuko said. Mari reached over and smacked her head. “Hey, it happens!”

 

The first event of the competition was the short dance. No one was at all surprised to see Solène and Jean-Augustin at the top, but Yumisa and Toru surprised everyone by finishing third, especially themselves. Anya and Christov were in fourth after Christov had nearly dropped Anya on a lift.

Men were up next. Yuuri was skating fifth. When he took the ice, Paul had the lead, followed by Su, both of whom had earned 80s. Yuuri tried not to let that rattle him – the judges were being harsh, that was all. He’d just have to go out and do his best. Right from the start, he knew it wouldn’t be his best, as his quad toe loop was just a little underrotated. He recovered well, and his step sequence and spins were reliable and solid, no problem with his combo or his triple axel. It wasn’t great, not like the last couple times he’d performed this program, but it was good.

Yakov agreed – relatively, this was a bad day, but a bad day was still a 92. “You know, it wouldn’t surprise me next year to see you, Vitya, or both break 100. It’s an Olympic year, I expect you both to push yourselves because everyone else will.”

“Wow. Over a hundred in the short program? That’s…” Yuuri shook his head, but he was thinking. “But then, Vitya wasn’t far off at Worlds, was he. Less than two points. Change the triple Lutz to a quad anything and he’s over, and if he can do three quads in a free skate, two in a short program should be easy.”

Sachio ended the group on a bad note, falling on a triple Lutz. Viktor was second in the next group. Like Yuuri, his performance wasn’t anywhere near what it had been at Worlds; unlike Yuuri, it wasn’t really expected to be. Worlds had been magical. He still executed everything cleanly, and his 91 was only a disappointment because he’d set the bar so high – and, of course, because it put him behind Yuuri.

Bin seemed to be suffering from the same post-Worlds hangover that Yuuri and Viktor were, as he got an 80 as well. Good enough for third, but Misha took that from him with an 86. The last two skaters finished near the bottom.

The ladies skated next. While they warmed up, Yuuri told Viktor about Yakov’s goal. “Think you can do it?”

“Sure! No problem! You can too, you know. Let’s make history next year!”

Skye was the second to skate, and the Worlds hangover clearly wasn’t affecting her, as she got a 66. Raisa was the only skater in the first group to get within ten points of her. Both of the first two skaters in the second group did, and then Yuuko beat her. Iona also scored above 60 to put herself in third place.

“If the points were calculated now, Japan has to be pleased with how they stand. A bit of a disappointment from Sachio, but made up for by Yumisa and Toru. Do you think that will stand up?”

“I know that Yuuko, Iona, and I can hold our places, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see Sachio rise. I would be a little surprised to see Yumisa and Toru finish third, because Anya and Christov are too good to let today’s mistakes happen tomorrow.”

“You’re cheering for Russia over your own country?”

“No, I hope Yumisa and Toru improve and take first after the free dance! I just know that they have very strong competition, and I am cheering for Russia over France or America. No offense to Paul or Skye, of course!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's so late after I took a day off! I unexpectedly ended up going to see A Wrinkle In Time with my mom today. We'd planned on going this weekend, but I didn't realize today was an option.


	47. Chapter 47

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team World Trophy Days 2 and 3. Some big decisions are made.
> 
> Timeline: April 12-13, 2013

Day 2 started with pairs. This one did not go well for Japan, with Mie and Yusuke finishing last. There was still a chance in the free skate, but they were well behind even the fourth-place team. Russia was a better off, with Timofey and Angelina finishing third for the day. In the ice dance, as expected, Yumisa and Toru slipped back to fifth. The French team who had dominated the season won, with the Americans second and Anya and Christov securing third place.

Japan hoped for better from their men’s skaters, to redeem the day. Sachio delivered, putting forth a strong program that put him in first after the first group. Su, on the other hand, collapsed a bit. Bin and Misha both held their places, but neither of them were in a position to worry Viktor or Yuuri. Unless one of them made huge mistakes, they would be the top two.

Viktor skated before Yuuri, and he went out there to just have fun. He had quite a bit of it, landing his three quads cleanly and just plain enjoying the closest he’d ever get to participating in the summer Olympics. He was going to miss this program. His performance score was a little low, he felt, but a 185 was still an excellent score, regardless. 276 left plenty of room for Yuuri to win overall, but second and third was a very good result for Russia.

Yuuri started off well, nailing his first quad and his triple axel. He looked very comfortable out there, and Viktor was very proud that Yuuri was likely to beat him, right up until he went into a triple Lutz and very nearly fell. He was able to save the fall, but it was a huge mistake, on one of the easiest jumps in his program. As close as Viktor and Yuuri usually ended up, that might be enough to give Viktor the win. Yuuri finished out strong, at least, landing his final quad cleanly.

Viktor was right. 183 was enough to give Yuuri 276 – but a tenth lower than Viktor’s score, giving Viktor first place. He hugged Yuuri. “You did very well! You did not let down your teammates today. Russia’s in first, but Japan still has two of their best out there.”

“We’ve also got our absolute worst out there, too. Every point matters, and if I hadn’t messed up that triple Lutz, that’s one more point for Japan.”

“I know. Don’t dwell on it, though. Just have faith in Iona and Yuuko. Russia has to hope Alena can pull off something.”

“You’re going to be mad at me for this, but actually, I’m more worried about America. Skye and Cathy are both very good, and Jaylah and Travis are likely to win pairs. We’re only four points ahead of them…”

Viktor laughed and held Yuuri tighter. “Why would I be mad at you for that? It’s true, America’s going to earn a lot of points tomorrow! Russia’s ahead of them by ten, but who knows if that will be enough?”

“Except for the exhibition, our season’s over. What do we want to do?”

Viktor put a finger to his lips, thinking it over. “Pass our finals?”

Yuuri stuck out his tongue at Viktor. “I meant after that, you goober. When we take off on vacation, where do you want to go?”

“Well, there’s the annual Visit Phichit trip, of course, and your parents would never forgive us if we didn’t get to Hasetsu.”

“Vitya…”

“Somewhere it’s not too hot to be properly cuddly so the media doesn’t start speculating about our impending divorce again?”

“Right, sure, blame the media, you only like to be all over me because if you’re not they say silly things.” Yuuri kissed Viktor’s nose. “Australia? You’ve mentioned wanting to go there before, it’ll be winter so it won’t be too hot, depending on exact itinerary we might be able to hang out with Jude for a bit…”

“Sounds good to me!”

 

Pairs kicked off day 3. Japan was able to pass the Chinese team, but not anyone else. It made Yuuri feel a little better, anyway. France ended up passing Russia, much to Viktor’s dismay. America and Japan were tied, with Russia still in the lead.

In the ladies’ skate, China did not do well, leaving them likely to finish in last place. Alena struggled as well, pretty much killing any chance Russia had of holding on. Raisa did all right, but not enough to save Russia’s chances. Cathy had a great program, while Iona struggled. Skye and Yuuko held on to their second and first, and Yuuri started laughing when he checked the standings. “Japan and America tied! I told you that one point was important, Vitya!”

Viktor hugged him. “And if Sachio had done better in his short program, he probably would have beaten Paul and Japan would have won by two. Iona had trouble, too. I don’t think anyone is going to hold this against you. Do you know, are there tiebreakers, or will they just hand out gold medals to both teams?”

“I don’t.”

As it turned out, there was a tiebreaker, and it favored the Americans. Gold for America, silver for Japan, bronze for Russia.

After getting their medals, Misha grabbed Viktor and Yuuri. “Thought you guys should be the third to know. This season didn’t start great for me, but Worlds and here, I did as well as I ever have. I feel great, and with the Olympics next year, I’m gonna hang around one last year. Unless I’m feeling really good or don’t get named to the team, I’m retiring after the Olympics.”

“Third?” Yuuri asked.

“Well, Emya and Nika got to be first, of course, and then Yakov.”

Viktor grinned. One more year with his big brother on the ice with him. “What did Yakov have to say about it?”

“He told me that if I feel good and Emya’s on board, then it’s my choice. He doesn’t want me sticking around just for the Olympics, but he agrees that I’m still good enough to justify one more year.”


	48. Chapter 48

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Looking ahead.
> 
> Timeline: April 2010

Misha and Georgi both took off right away for vacation, Misha and his family to America and Georgi and Anya on a cruise of Greece. Viktor and Yuuri had school, or they’d be gone already, too. Yuri took a vacation, too. He’d be going to America in June for Natasha’s birthday, but right now, he was off to Moscow for a week with his grandfather and hanging out with Otabek when he wasn’t in school or on the ice.

Mila showed up to practice one day on fire and ready to fight with Yakov. “I want to move up to Seniors this year.”

Yakov’s eyebrows drew together. “You’ve been saying all year that you were going to stay in Juniors another year, until your body was done being stupid and changing on you.”

Mila waved a hand. “Yeah, but then I realized something. It’s an Olympic year, and if I want to go, I need to show that I can compete with the seniors.”

“Can you? You weren’t exactly dominant in Juniors this year.”

“Dominant, no, but I was always competitive, and I’m willing to bet on myself.”

Yakov's skepticism didn't disappear at all. “I’m still not going to let you work toward a quad. Not until your body is done changing and you’re showing me that you’re ready.”

Mila just smiled. “I wasn’t expecting you to let me. PyeongChang will be plenty of time for that.”

Now Yakov looked a little more thoughtful. “And you’re sure this is what you want.”

“I’m sure. The worst that happens is I don’t outcompete Alena for the second spot. I’m not expecting to win medals, except at Nationals.”

Yakov stared at her, and then nodded. “Fine. As long as you’re realistic about what happens next year. I think you have a good chance at making the Olympics, but you’re not going to be competing with the Japanese ladies or Kang Hee.”

“Five skaters at the Olympics? That’s going to be fun!” Viktor hugged Mila. “I have faith in you. Russia will too.”

 

Several other people were either moving up to compete for Olympic slots, including Seung Gil and Phichit. Misha wasn’t the only older skater who decided to come back, either. Yuuri was very excited when Phichit told him he was moving up. “Think you’ll be invited to the Grand Prix?”

“I don’t know. There’s a lot of competition this year. I’m eligible, but whether they’ll give me a chance, that’s up to them.”

“Well, at the very least, we should have the Olympics and Worlds together. We’re going to have so much fun!”

“We’ll have the Olympics if I can earn a spot for Thailand. There’s no guarantee. I’m skating in the Nebelhorn in September for it. Celestino's confident, but I could hurt myself, or something...”

“And you’ll do it! I have faith in you, Phichit. I don’t think we’ll be able to come watch you because of school, but if we can make it work…”

“I wasn’t expecting to see you there. Just cheer really hard for me, okay? And Seung Gil! He needs to come too!”

 

In Moscow, Yuri was having a great time. His grandpa was doing well, and he got to hang out with his friend before Otabek moved to America. “Do you know where you’re going yet?”

“Detroit. I won’t be skating for Celestino, exactly, but my coach is going to work with him for a year. After that, I’ll either stick with Celestino if we think it’s a good fit, or figure out something that would work better for me.”

“You’ll have Phichit as a rinkmate?” That was probably a good thing. Otabek and Phichit weren't exactly friends yet, but knowing Phichit, that wouldn't last more than a day or two.

“Yeah. He’s already promised to help me settle in and get comfortable in Detroit once I get there. I’m actually going to Colorado first, for a training camp Celestino's helping out with. Downside, I also get JJ as a rinkmate. Won’t that be fun?”

Yuri made a face. “I thought JJ was only staying for a year.”

“So did I, but Phichit said he’s staying another year.”

“Ew. That sucks. I’m sorry.”

Otabek shrugged. “Could be a lot worse. JJ’s good. I can learn something from him, I’m sure.”

“If you learn how to be an obnoxious asshole, we’re not friends anymore.”

“According to my sisters, I don’t need to learn that from JJ, I’m perfectly good at it already.”

Yuri had to laugh at that. “Yeah, well. One of your sisters is an Angel now.”

“To help you…”

“For now," Yuri interrupted. "I’m hoping it never happens, but it’s possible that they’ll corrupt her, especially with you gone.”

“I may not be there, but I’ll be talking to them all the time over Skype. I’ve got a few days between school ending and training camp starting, and I’m gonna go home just to see everyone. I’ll be sure to tell my gran to keep an eye on Dariya. If she starts acting like a typical Angel, Gran will straighten her out." Hooray for grandparents. "What's happening with Lev?”

“No clue. He didn’t show at the European Criterium Cup, so Mama and Yakov figure he’s laying low for a while. Too close to getting caught on the forgery.”

“Good to hear. So all you’ve got to worry about this summer is…" Otabek trailed off. "Nothing, really, you swept every competition you entered this year, next year should be a breeze.”

“Well, Mama’s due in August, so there’s that. Lev’s still out there, I’m gonna have to do some publicity events and deal with Angels, there’s a German kid who looked good – not as good as me, but good enough to keep me honest. I wish we were old enough to compete for the Olympics.”

“You’d have to compete against your rinkmates. Three slots, four of you.”

“Yeah. Next Olympics Misha will be retired for sure, so there’ll be three at most. Viktor and Georgi will be kind of old by then, too, so they may be gone.”

“Hard to imagine men's figure skating without the Katsuki-Nikiforov duo.”

Yuri snorted. “Hard to imagine the rink without those two being ridiculous, although I guess Viktor will probably hang around as much as Yakov will let him as long as Yuuri’s still skating. Those two are gross. I hope I’m not like that with my soulmate.”

“Better a soulmate you act like that with than one like Lev.”

“True. There’s gotta be a nice middle ground in there, though.”

“The Angels have a new theory, Dariya tells me.”

“Oh no. What?”

“You know that Japanese skater who did really well in Juniors last year? Muraoka Togai?”

“Why him?”

“Well, in Japan, they’re talking about him as Katsuki Yuuri 2.0. He’s seventeen, not sixteen, so it’s not perfect, but…”

“Oh fuck no." Yuri's stomach turned on him. "No way. If my soulmate is a Japanese skater, I’m quitting and moving to Indonesia.”

Otabek started to laugh. “Why Indonesia?”

“Go hang out with the Sumatran tigers.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you have suggestions for ships you'd like to see in this 'verse, please let me know in the comments!
> 
> Canon: Christmas (Chris and Mystery Man Masumi), Makkachin/Vicchan, Yakov/Lilia.
> 
> AU: Otayuri*, Milasara*, Emimike*, Chulacometti, Christophe/Georgi, Chris/Paul, Phichuuri+, Yuuko/Takeshi/Seung Gil, Paul/Rykov, Chris/Viktuuri, Viktor/Yuuri/Rykov, Chris/Seung Gil, Chris/Viktor/Yuuri, Chulacometti/Viktuuri, Mari/Georgi, Mila/Georgi.  
> *The stories as written have become AU due to developments in the canonverse of this AU but the ships are still potential canon ships.
> 
> Undecided Canonicity: Leoji, Marichu, Seungchuchu, Minami/Yurio/Otabek, Phiciaociao, JJBella, Minami/Chris, Plinami, Phichit/Leo/Guang Hong, JJSeung, Otapliroy, Pliroy, JJBek, Otaseung, Leoseung, Guangchu, Otachu, Phichit/Yurio.
> 
> On the list to write in whatever order I get ideas for them: Otabek/OC, Viktuuri/YuuYu/Otayuri, Sara/Seung Gil + Georgi/Michele, Phichit/Mila, Mila/Minami, Yakov/Nikolai, Lilia/Minako, Mari/Sasha, Sasha/Rykov


End file.
